The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Brussels, 17 July 2008

On the basis of a “good offices” proposal, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Mr. Pascal LAMY, has proposed a compromise solution to the banana dispute without however consulting the ACP Banana producer countries.

By sanctioning such unacceptable tariff cuts, this compromise solution puts the ACP banana production in an irreversible jeopardy by giving undue advantage to the Latin-American producers who already account for 80 % of the Community’s banana imports, to the detriment of the ACP and Community banana productions.

Should the proposed tariff cuts be applied as things actually stand, they would deal a lethal blow to the ACP banana industry, and consequently, have an adverse effect on the ACP economies, since this crop constitutes one of the major instruments of development and a powerful factor in the regional integration process and in their fight against poverty.

Under the present circumstances, this compromise solution would ruin all the ACP countries’ chances of participating actively in the multilateral trade system, as strongly advocated by the multilateral financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank.

The implementation of this proposal could only call back into question and make redundant the ongoing Economic Partnership Agreements by prompting the ACP states to question the purpose of the Doha Round.

The ACP countries feel that, purely legal considerations apart, it is imperative to search for an equitable solution that takes account of the interests of all the stake holders.

Details contact: iroga@acp.int