[00:00.00]The European Union has initiated an agreement
[00:03.89]to end one of the world's longest-running trade disputes over bananas.
[00:07.31]The EU, the world's biggest importer of bananas,
[00:10.67]is to cut the duty it imposes on Latin American producers of the fruit,
[00:14.59]while bananas grows in former European colonies
[00:17.39]will gradually lose the preferential terms
[00:19.69]they've enjoyed. Andrew Walker reports.
[00:22.17]The deal signed in Geneva
[00:23.85]commits the European Union to gradually lowering the tariffs it imposes
[00:27.34]on bananas imported mainly from Latin America.
[00:30.01]The cut will be over a third by 2017.
[00:33.75]That will reduce the competitive advantage of a group of countries,
[00:37.60]mainly former colonies of EU states in Africa and Caribbean,
[00:41.27]which enjoyed tariff-free access.
[00:43.88]The EU plans to provide those countries with some compensation,
[00:47.43]in a shape of nearly 300 million dollars in additional aid.

The European Union has initiated an agreement
to end one of the world's longest-running trade disputes over bananas.
The EU, the world's biggest importer of bananas,
is to cut the duty it imposes on Latin American producers of the fruit,
while bananas grows in former European colonies
will gradually lose the preferential terms
they've enjoyed. Andrew Walker reports.
The deal signed in Geneva
commits the European Union to gradually lowering the tariffs it imposes
on bananas imported mainly from Latin America.
The cut will be over a third by 2017.
That will reduce the competitive advantage of a group of countries,
mainly former colonies of EU states in Africa and Caribbean,
which enjoyed tariff-free access.
The EU plans to provide those countries with some compensation,
in a shape of nearly 300 million dollars in additional aid.