BANANA WARS: THE ANATOMY OF A TRADE DISPUTE; ED. BY T.E. JOSLING

The trade dispute between the United States and the European Union over bananas blends together issues of developing country preferences, quota allocation schemes, trade dispute rules, multilateral trading firms, competition for market shares, political sensitivities, and small-farmer alternatives to traditional crops. Josling (international studies, Stanford U.) and Taylor (food and resource economics, U. of Florida) present 10 chapters that explore these issues, attempting to draw generalized conclusions for the overall global trade system. The historical economic development of the banana trade is outlined, followed by a discussion of the evolution of EU policy. The WTO banana case is explored in some detail. Distributed by Oxford U. Press. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In 2001, the EU and US announced the end of a trade dispute over the sale of bananas into the EU market. The allocation of import liscences had been found to violate World Trade Organization rules and to discriminate against suppliers from Latin America.

This book examines the issues surrounding the dispute, in particular: the dependence of small Carribean economies on European Banana Markets, the role of the private sector in influencing public policy, the relation between the banana trade and the political tensions of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, the domestic political influence of banana companies in the US and the role of the WTO and its settlement of trade disputes.

In April 2002, the US and EU announced the end of a trade dispute over the sale of bananas into the EU market. This book examines the issues surrounding the dispute and provides an insight into this story