Ecuador seeks sanctions against EU countries

It's been confirmed that Ecuador is to seek sanctions in its long-running dispute with the European Union over the banana trade.

A decision is due to be made on Thursday by the World Trade Organisation.

Documents which have just been released say Ecuador wants some two-hundred million dollars per year in sanctions imposed on thirteen European countries.

The World Trade Organisation says the move would affect a wide range of European goods.

The move is likely to be agreed because WTO arbitrators have already ruled that EU policies on banana imports breach international rules. Ecuador sought sanctions following a WTO ruling that the EU banana import policy discriminates against Latin American producers.

The United States already imposes sanctions on EU goods because of the same EU import policy, which gives preference to bananas from former colonies in Africa and the Caribbean.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service