As the Deputy will be aware, US reaction to changes in the European Union's banana import regime to bring it into line with World Trade Organisation, WTO, rules has been to threaten trade sanctions against certain exports from the European Union, including Ireland. The agreement reached on 29 January in the WTO in Geneva means that for the moment the US threat has been averted.
Under the terms of the agreement, a WTO dispute panel is examining the recently revised EU banana import regime and willl pronounce on its compatibility with WTO rules. The panel will also examine the US request for authority to impose trade sanctions and will assess the appropriateness of these under the WTO rules. It is expected that the results of the WTO panel's work will begin to become available at the beginning of next month and it is hoped that it will then be possible to resolve the matter within the mechanisms of the WTO. If these efforts prove unsuccessful the US sanctions could apply from early March.