 |
Banana Splits: Nested and Competing Regimes in the Transatlantic Banana Trade Dispute
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
10
for the import of bananas in Europe. First, France, Italy, the UK, Greece, Portugal and Spain offered preferential access for producers either from the EEC or from the sixty-nine African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries, most of them former European colonies, benefiting from special trade agreements through the Lomé Convention.
4
For
instance, France imported bananas from its overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique and from its former colonies, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon; Spain was supplied exclusively by domestic production in the Canary Islands. Under the Lomé IV Convention (1989-2000), bananas imported from the ACP entered the EEC duty free. A second regime governed the entry of bananas into Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland: a 20% tariff on imports of bananas. Finally, Germany benefited from a special regime that guaranteed unimpeded, duty-free access to bananas from Central and Latin American in virtue of the “banana protocol” attached to the Treaty of Rome after fierce negotiations by then German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer(Rodden, 2001:72).
In order to comply with the requirements set forth in the Single European Act,
Europe had to unify its multiple banana import practices into a single regime. But doing so entailed reconciling the apparently irreconcilable pulls of multiple institutions and treaty obligations in contradiction with one another. How could a new banana regime simultaneously: be consistent with the Single Market; honor its Lomé Convention commitment to protect the banana exports of ACP countries; honor the “Banana Protocol” in the Treaty of Rome guaranteeing Germany unimpeded access to bananas; and honor its obligations under the Uruguay Round of GATT to open markets in industrialized countries to products from developing countries?
5
The European Commission first began to consider the banana issue in 1988 but
only came to a conclusion in April 1992 after extensive negotiations and intense lobbying on the part of ACP Caribbean producers. The new regime, uniformly enforced throughout the European Community, established a multi-layered system of rules governing banana imports, giving a strong preference to EEC and ACP bananas, and discriminating against Latin American producers. More specifically, several distinct categories of banana supply were established: imports from the EEC (including overseas territories) were unrestricted; imports from the ACP countries were tariff-free up to 857,000 tons, after which they were subjected to a 750 ECU per ton tariff; and imports from other countries (mostly from Central and Latin American producers) were allotted a yearly quota of two million tons with a 20% tariff, and a 170% tariff beyond this quota. The system was implemented by the Commission which issued import licenses that allocated quotas among banana
4
The Lomé Convention, initially signed in 1975 after the accession of Great Britain into
the EEC (and renewed in 1979, 1984 and 1989), is the world's largest financial and political framework for North-South cooperation. This special relationship between the EEC and the ACP countries is characterized by non-reciprocal trade benefits for ACP states including unlimited entry to the EC market for 99 per cent of industrial goods and many other products. Of the 69 ACP countries, at least 8 are significant banana producers.
5
See Lyons, 1994, p. 2.
|
| |
| |
|
|
10
for the import of bananas in Europe. First, France, Italy, the UK, Greece, Portugal and
Spain offered preferential access for producers either from the EEC or from the sixty-
nine African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries, most of them former European
colonies, benefiting from special trade agreements through the Lomé Convention.
4
For
instance, France imported bananas from its overseas departments of Guadeloupe and
Martinique and from its former colonies, such as Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon; Spain was
supplied exclusively by domestic production in the Canary Islands. Under the Lomé IV
Convention (1989-2000), bananas imported from the ACP entered the EEC duty free. A
second regime governed the entry of bananas into Belgium, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland: a 20% tariff on imports of bananas. Finally,
Germany benefited from a special regime that guaranteed unimpeded, duty-free access to
bananas from Central and Latin American in virtue of the “banana protocol” attached to
the Treaty of Rome after fierce negotiations by then German Chancellor Konrad
Adenauer(Rodden, 2001:72).
In order to comply with the requirements set forth in the Single European Act,
Europe had to unify its multiple banana import practices into a single regime. But doing
so entailed reconciling the apparently irreconcilable pulls of multiple institutions and
treaty obligations in contradiction with one another. How could a new banana regime
simultaneously: be consistent with the Single Market; honor its Lomé Convention
commitment to protect the banana exports of ACP countries; honor the “Banana
Protocol” in the Treaty of Rome guaranteeing Germany unimpeded access to bananas;
and honor its obligations under the Uruguay Round of GATT to open markets in
industrialized countries to products from developing countries?
5
The European Commission first began to consider the banana issue in 1988 but
only came to a conclusion in April 1992 after extensive negotiations and intense lobbying
on the part of ACP Caribbean producers. The new regime, uniformly enforced throughout
the European Community, established a multi-layered system of rules governing banana
imports, giving a strong preference to EEC and ACP bananas, and discriminating against
Latin American producers. More specifically, several distinct categories of banana supply
were established: imports from the EEC (including overseas territories) were unrestricted;
imports from the ACP countries were tariff-free up to 857,000 tons, after which they
were subjected to a 750 ECU per ton tariff; and imports from other countries (mostly
from Central and Latin American producers) were allotted a yearly quota of two million
tons with a 20% tariff, and a 170% tariff beyond this quota. The system was implemented
by the Commission which issued import licenses that allocated quotas among banana
4
The Lomé Convention, initially signed in 1975 after the accession of Great Britain into
the EEC (and renewed in 1979, 1984 and 1989), is the world's largest financial and
political framework for North-South cooperation. This special relationship between the
EEC and the ACP countries is characterized by non-reciprocal trade benefits for ACP
states including unlimited entry to the EC market for 99 per cent of industrial goods and
many other products. Of the 69 ACP countries, at least 8 are significant banana
producers.
5
See Lyons, 1994, p. 2.
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention makes running your annual conference simple and cost effective. It is your online solution for abstract management, peer review, and scheduling for your annual meeting or convention. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
