Tài liệu nhom 11 ppt

Banana war The EU's banana tariff provides some degree of protection from competition to two groups of producers. One is foreign suppliers mainly in Africa and the Caribbean, which are usually former colonies of EU states. They have tariff free access for about three quarters of a million tones of their bananas. The other group is producers inside the EU, in Spain, Greece, Portugal and French territories in the Caribbean. The single tariff on bananas from elsewhere - mainly Latin America - was introduced in January to replace a more complex system of tariffs and quotas which the WTO decided was incompatible with its rules. The EU was told to introduce a system that at least preserved the previous market access for other suppliers. Ecuador has apparently decided that it does not do that and is reported to have made a complaint to the WTO. Several other Latin American countries were involved in early stages of this long running quarrel. So was the United States, because many plantations in South and Central America are run by US companies such as Chiquita. The EU has long been internally divided over the issue. Some countries, such as Germany would prefer an almost unrestricted market so that their consumers could get the best bananas at the lowest prices. Andrew Walker, BBC Essay topic: Should we invest more in agriculture products or industry?