The banana regime of the European Union, the Caribbean, and Latin America

The tone of European-Latin American relations in recent years has been strongly influenced by the issue of bananas. At stake has been the future of the banana trade between the European Union (EU)(1) and Latin America, which, even if small in relative size (constituting less than 5% of Latin America's exports to the EU), has loomed large in international political calculations. This article seeks to make sense of avery complex, and still developing, situation by identifying the interests of the various parties directly concerned. The first part examines the background, the problem, and the solution to this issue as set out in the adoption of a new banana regime (NBR) in the EU. The second part then looks at the different reactions to this new regime in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the United States as well as at the eventual adoption of a ''Framework Agreement,'' through which the regime secured a workable basis in the US and Latin America. The final part discusses the operation of the regime and the many challenges to it which still persist, not only in Latin America and the United States, but in the European Union as well. The main conclusion is that, although the new regime offers a solution that is far from perfect, it still is worthy of support as serving the long-run interests of the producer countries in both Latin America and the Caribbean.