Honduras, Panama say new EU banana tariff illegal, request talks with Brussels

Honduras and Panama said Wednesday that a new European Union tariff on bananas imported from Latin America is against World Trade Organization rules and requested further talks with Brussels.

The EU said Tuesday it would introduce a Ђ176 (US$206) per ton tariff from the start of next year in its latest effort to end a global trade dispute, but Latin American countries said it was still too high.

The WTO ruled the EU's last tariff of Ђ187 (US$219) per ton illegal in October, just two months after it threw out another proposal of Ђ230 (US$270) per ton that countries such as Brazil and Colombia claimed would have a devastating effect on their economies.

"WTO commitments are not made to be broken," said Panama's WTO Ambassador Norman Harris, AP reported. V.A.