WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/615 
25 July 2005 
 (05-3327) 
 Original:   Spanish 
  
 
DECLARATION OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE LATIN AMERICAN 
BANANA EXPORTING COUNTRIES 
San José, 7 July 2005 
 
  The following communication, dated 11 July 2005, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Costa Rica.  
_______________ 
 
  The Presidents of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Panama, and the representatives of the Presidents of Nicaragua a nd Honduras, meeting in San José, Costa Rica, on 
7 July 2005, as a follow-up to the Declaration of  Quito of 26 January 2005 have decided in full 
agreement to issue the fo llowing joint declaration: 
 1. We reaffirm that social, economic and political  stability depend, to a great extent, on our 
countries' efforts to integrate our economies into world trade meeting with responsible and positive 
responses from developed countries.  It is accordi ngly essential that the latter open their markets to 
products from our countries, all of which are developing countries. 
2. We emphasize that this undeniable reality is most  clearly reflected in the banana trade.  Great 
efforts have been made in Latin America to ach ieve high levels of quality, competitiveness and 
productivity in this agricultural activity.  Exports of  this fruit have made an important contribution to 
economic growth and to our development.  Yet the European Union has consistently applied a policy 
that restricts banana imports from our region thus li miting the benefits of international trade for our 
producers. 
3. We express our deep concern at the European  Union's reiterated in tention to extend the 
restrictions that discriminate against bananas from La tin America.  We affirm that the current tariff 
level of 75 Euros per metric ton is already restric tive and that the new tariff should therefore be lower 
than 75 Euros, considering the unlimited and duty -free access afforded to the African, Caribbean and 
Pacific (ACP) countries. 
4. We point out that the situation is the more serious and of greater concern because hundreds of 
thousands of jobs generated by the banana sector ar e threatened by the European Union's intention to 
increase the tariff to 230 Euros per metric ton as of 1 January 2006, a date that takes into account 
elements that have not yet materialized . 
5. We urge the European Union to respect the co mmitment in the Annex of the Doha Waiver 
under Article I:1 of the GATT 1994, adopted on 14 N ovember 2001, since the tariff of 230 Euros per 
metric ton does not guarantee at least the maintenance of total access for bananas from Latin America. WT/L/615 
Page 2  
 
 6. We confirm our commitment to the negotiati ons of the Doha Development Round, launched 
on November 2001 and hence to the objective of ach ieving significant progress, particularly in the 
agriculture negotiations, which will this month unde rgo a critical phase in Geneva (Switzerland), 
known as a "First Approximation", in the work lead ing up to the WTO Ministerial Conference that 
will take place next December in Hong Kong. 
7. We emphasize the need to comply with the agriculture mandate of the Doha Round with 
regard to market access, particularly for developi ng countries, and to the total elimination of export 
subsidies and the reduction of the domestic support gr anted by developed countries, particularly those 
of the European Union.  
8. We reiterate that developed countries should comply with the commitment to the fullest 
liberalization of trade in tropical agricultural produc ts, including bananas, and products of particular 
importance to diversification of production enablin g crops from which illicit drugs are obtained to be 
abandoned.  The future of the banana industry depends on such compliance.  We express our 
determination to continue our joint efforts for the Doha Round through the Group of Tropical and 
Alternative Products, to which we belong. 
9. We consider it unjustifiable that in the Doha  Round the European Commission, in the name 
of development, should deny market opening to banana exports from Latin American developing 
countries.  We find it of great concern that, because it wishes to preserve discriminatory treatment in trade, the European Commission is making progr ess in the multilateral trade negotiations difficult. 
10. We acknowledge the coordinated work we have performed so far as a block of countries and 
we reaffirm the commitment made in the Declar ation of Quito of 26 January 2005, whereby our 
Governments will pursue coordinate d efforts towards defense of the interests of the region, 
particularly as regards the matter currently under arbitration. 
11. We reiterate our resolve to adopt the same join t approach, particularly towards consultations 
with the European Union in the near future, in orde r to ensure the achievement of satisfactory results 
without jeopardizing the rights of each of our countries. 
  WT/L/615 
 Page 3 
 
 
  
  Abel Pacheco de la Espriella President of the Republic of Costa Rica  
 Álvaro Uribe Vélez President of the Republic of Colombia 
 
    
Alfredo Palacio González 
President of the Republic of Ecuador  
    
Oscar Rafael Berger Perdomo 
President of the Republic of Guatemala 
   
 
 Martín Torrijos Espino President of the Republic of Panama  
  
 
 Mario Alberto Fortín Midence Secretary of State of the Bureau of Foreign Relations of the  Republic of Honduras 
 
   Azucena Castillo de Solano 
Minister of Promotion, Industry and  
Trade of the Republic of Nicaragua  
 
   
 
    
 
     
 
    
 
    WT/L/615 
Page 4  
 
  
ADDENDUM 
 
 
 The Presidents and the Heads of Delegations  of the Latin American Banana Exporting 
Countries have agreed upon the following: 
 
1. To hold, in the City of Medellin, Colombia, a follow-up technical meeting starting on 
18 July 2005, prior to first arbitration award. 
 
2. To hold in Panama, at a date to be agreed upon, the next Summit Meeting of Latin 
American Banana Exporting Countries, to evaluate the process under way before the 
European Union involving the signatory countries of the Declaration of San José.  
 
3. To instruct our Ambassadors in Brussels , Belgium and in Geneva, Switzerland, to 
jointly distribute the Declaration of the Governments of the Latin American Banana 
Exporting Countries, signed in San José, Costa Rica, on 7 July 2005, to the relevant bodies of the European Union and its member countries.  
 
__________