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Article: Banana split: the gloves are off and the unholy spat to gain control over the world banana trade keeps getting bloodier by the minute ...
- Article from:
- New Internationalist
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 New Internationalist Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHAT do chandeliers, pecorino cheese, bed linen without embroidered borders, plastic-coated handbags, biscuits, cashmere sweaters, coffee- or tea-makers (excepting those from Italy), Carl H Lindner Jnr and truffles have in common? You've guessed it. Bananas.
All of these items -- except bananas and Mr Lindner -- are among European Union exports that have, at one time or another, been threatened by the US Government with punitive import tariffs worth about $500 million. This is where bananas and Mr Lindner come in. He heads the American Financial Group, which includes among its assets Chiquita Brands International of Cincinnati -- a major banana-producing ...