A Transition Proposal for Lome Convention Trade Preferences : The Case of the EU Banana Regime

When Contracting Parties finally signed the Uruguay Round GATT Agreements, then EC Members were split on reform of the EC banana import regime. An ambiguous legal outcome allowed EC States to sign the GATT accords while reserving the right to challenge the EC banana regime, defended adamantly by countries with former African, Caribbean, and Pacific colonies ― so-called ACP countries who benefited from Lome Convention trade preferences. This paper describes a single-tariff system to replace the old system of quotas. The proceeds of the tariff, the paper shows, can be used to provide non-distorting income support to ACP countries