EU policies related to bananas have a long history in trade disputes. Is this the next chapter:
EU agriculture ministers gave broad political support on Tuesday to a scheme offering millions of schoolchildren free fresh fruit and vegetables from next year as a way to promote healthy eating and tackle child obesity.
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Another topic of debate was whether the school fruit and vegetables should primarily be locally grown or imported. Most countries' ministers said they preferred to use EU produce although this point will remain open for next month's debate.
"There was general consensus that this should be sourced from EU production," another official said. "In the north of Europe, fruit and vegetable production is seasonal so there would probably be a preference for southern European products."
Fischer Boel, stressing that the scheme had to comply with World Trade Organisation rules, said there seemed to be no WTO obstacle to limiting the choice to EU produce.
"However, I can see no reason why we should not allow, for example, our children to eat bananas from ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) countries if this choice is justifiable for health and educational reasons," she told the ministers.
I wonder why they are so confident that there is no WTO concern here. Is it because this is government procurement, and therefore GATT Article III:8(a) would trump any national treatment violation? I can see that might be right if it is just a question of buying EU versus non-EU products, but favoring ACP bananas seems like it might lead to (yet) another WTO dispute.
ADDED: Maybe only ACP bananas from ACP countries that have signed EPAs with the EU will be covered?
