European Union trade law
The European Union's high court has ruled against a Belgian banana importer who sought to use a WTO ruling to challenge EU trade quotas. In a case that sets precedent across the 25 nation EU, the courts ruled that a WTO decision could not be used in European courts to overturn EU trade rules. Belgian import company complained after it was denied licenses in 1998 and 1999 to import a certain quantity of bananas from Ecuador. The refusal was based on EU import quotas and the Belgian court passed it on to the EU court. Plans to overhaul the EU banana tariffs in 2006 have raised concerns of anew dispute - with Ecuador joining five other Latin American nations this month in an appeal to the WTO to reject future proposals.