GENEVA, Oct 27: The World Trade Organization on Thursday struck down a proposed European Union tariff on bananas, saying it was too high to allow fair competition from Latin American exporters.

In its decision, the global referee said the new duty Brussels was proposing in order to comply with a previous ruling would still skew the banana trade.

The EU had “failed to rectify” its proposals following the earlier ruling against its banana import regulations, said a WTO arbitration report. The arbitrator did not say what would be considered a fair tariff.

Latin American countries have won a string of victories after years of battles with the EU at the 148-nation WTO, which sets the rules for global commerce.

“I think that we’re getting close to the last chapter,” Costa Rica’s trade ambassador Ronald Saborio told AFP.

“They have lost three panels, and now they have lost two arbitrations. So I’m convinced that they will do their best to finish this once and for all. I hope that this is what was needed for a solution that is fair for the Latin Americans.”

Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said in a statement issued in Brussels that the commission was “surprised and disappointed that the arbitrators did not back our proposal.”

Other diplomats said both sides were likely to return to the negotiating table.—AFP