Sweet deals for Mandy ?

Peter Mandelson, debonair EU commissioner for trade, after dubious triumphs (?) in the Chinese “bra wars” has turned his attention to dealing with Brazilians waving their bananas at him.

Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela the so-called Most Favoured Nation (MFN) suppliers have all been aggrieved (or at least the major US owned fruit companies operating there – Chiqita, Del Monte et. al), that preferential access to the EU was afforded to Caribbean bananas as part of the UK shedding it’s Empire.

This involved a complicated joint tariff / quota system - The WTO ruled against the practice and the EU ignored the ruling, now the European Commission has presented a revised proposal of € 187 a tonne for most favoured nation (MFN) suppliers of bananas. From January 1st 2006 the new tariff is intended to replace the existing regime based on tariffs / quotas for MFN.

Mandy says, "The Commission's new proposal confirms Europe's commitment to ending this longstanding dispute. We have been careful to ensure that preferential access for our ACP partners is maintained.” – Hence the stormy scenes with his Brazilian friends.

Meanwhile the EU is to dump 2 Mn tonnes of sugar on world markets, which will screw Third World producers. This will be the result of current EC proposals, to meet a WTO ruling, that will reduce the price of sugar from beet by 39% , accompanied a hugely expensive voluntary restructuring scheme that will offer aid and benefit the largest producers, sugar factories and growers who leave the industry.

A one off payment to third world producers of by the EU of 40 million euros in 2006 will be a one-off compensation payment to sugar producers in ACP countries - former colonies of Britain, France and Portugal.

Consequently countries like Mauritius are hit with a double – whammy, the Chinese are destroying their European market for the textile manufacturing industry and they will (after the one off payment) see lower prices for a vital export – which is the only crop they can grow to survive their tropical storms and hurricanes.

Meanwhile Mandy is in Washington this week with EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to talk with their US counterparts in Washington to discuss the WTO round of trade liberalisation talks prior to the Hong Kong WTO ministerial meeting in 2 weeks time.