EU Farm Ministers OK Banana Import Plan

European Union farm ministers approved a plan to revise their banana import system, hoping it will resolve a lengthy dispute with U.S. and Latin American producers and lead to the lifting of trade sanctions. The plan calls for the 15-nation EU to keep a transitional system of tariffs and quotas to allocate the quotas on a first-come, first-served basis as of April 1, until a tariff-only system takes effect in 2006. The first-come, first-served system aims to eliminate the distinction between so-called traditional banana importers--those from former colonies--and those who started more recently, such as Latin American exporters. Britain was the only country to vote against the new proposal. The United States already has said it would resist the newly approved plan. U.S. officials want the EU to issue licenses taking into account shares of trade during certain trading periods, which would be advantageous to U.S. firms Chiquita Brands International Inc. and Dole Foods Co.