Despite high hopes at trade talks last week between Andean Pact countries and the EU, a new lower banana entry tariff has not been agreed.

Ecuador’s chief negotiator, Mentor Villa Gomez, said that his country was likely to proceed much more slowly in any free-trade agreement with the EU than its fellow pact countries Colombia and Peru. The issue of the entry tariff for bananas is now likely to be raised at the next round of talks in July.

Meanwhile, ACP countries have made it clear that any proposal to reduce the tariff on bananas for Latin American countries will damage the position of ACP fruit in EU markets. Last week, the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee received an assurance it would be “associated” to any future talks on banana tariff cuts between the European Commission and the Latin American nations.

The Latin Americans are seeking a tariff reduction from €176 (£158) a tonne to €114. But ACP states claim that any tariff below €150 would precipitate the end of a banana export industry in ACP countries.

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