Banana wars : the price of free trade, a Caribbean perspective / Gordon Myers.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Bananas are taken for granted today as part of the diet of ordinary people in industrial countries. In the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, bananas provided around one-third of all jobs and half their export earnings - until recent WTO rulings began to undermine the industry." "In this history, Gordon Myers tells the story of how the US government, in response to grievances of one American corporation, led the World Trade Organisation to nullify a European Community commitment to protect the livelihood of small Caribbean banana growers. The WTO's own working practices also emerge as inflexible and myopic."--Jacket.

Introduction -- The beginnings -- A benevolent empire -- The Windward Islands -- Banana Wars in the Commonwealth -- Judicial review and resolve to reform -- The European Community: pre-1993 -- The market and the major players -- Negotiating the new regime -- The first GATT challenges, 1993-94 -- The birth of the WTO: compromise at Marrakesh -- Chiquita and the US campaign -- The First WTO case -- A disputed conformity -- Spin and reality -- Seeking an agreed solution -- Cotonou complications -- Winners and losers -- A threatened future -- prospects for survival -- Equitable trading? -- Reflections on the WTO -- Post-mortem -- Afterword / Edison James -- Appendix: a climate of uncertainty.

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