Business

Thu Aug 28 18:55:36 PDT 2008

The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday that it has appealed at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against a ruling that found European import tariffs for bananas are unfair to Latin American exporters.

"The EC has today notified the WTO that it will appeal the panel reports on the banana cases brought by Ecuador and the U.S.," the commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said in a statement.

It said that WTO ruling neglected the evidence that Latin American banana exporters had in recent years enjoyed an increase of 10 percent in market access.

In response to a complaint by the United States, the WTO ruled in May that the EC violated trade rules by preferentially imported bananas from Europe’s former colonies such as African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

A panel of the world trade body demanded that the EC comply with its reports by Aug. 29.

The EU has been in dispute with the Latin American exporters and the United States for more than ten years due to its preferential treatment to former European colonies.

Source: Xinhua