Corporate versus National Interest in US Trade Policy: Chiquita and Caribbean Bananas PDF
Preview Corporate versus National Interest in US Trade Policy: Chiquita and Caribbean Bananas
Richard L. Bernal Corporate versus National Interest in US Trade Policy Chiquita and Caribbean Bananas Corporate versus National Interest in US Trade Policy Richard L. Bernal Corporate versus National Interest in US Trade Policy Chiquita and Caribbean Bananas Richard L. Bernal Office of Global Affairs University of the West Indies Kingston, Jamaica ISBN 978-3-030-56949-5 ISBN 978-3-030-56950-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56950-1 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland A cknowledgements A loving family is the ultimate good fortune in life. I have certainly been so blessed throughout my life. The example and unconditional support of my parents is evident in everything I have done. There has been no greater inspiration than the pride in my sons, Brian and Darren and the unlimited joy of my grandchildren, Nile and Elle make me glad for each and every day of life. There is so much to thank my wife Margaret for that it would fill a very long book. My teachers have the right to expect more and better. I unreservedly express my appreciation to them. My professors at the University of the West Indies, Trevor Munroe, Orlando Patterson, Clive Thomas, Douglas Hall, Adlith Brown, Rex Nettleford, and George Beckford. My exposure to David Gordon, Gita Sen, and Anwar Shaikh was enjoyable and enlight- ening. I have benefitted immeasurably from the invaluable advice and con- sistent support of Sir George Alleyne, Prof. Franklin Knight, Prof. Edward Greene, Richard Fletcher, Douglas Fletcher, Dudley Clarke, Dr. W. Astor Kirk, Prof. Vishnu Persaud, and Prof. Donald J. Harris. Ambassador Donald Mills was such an inspirational example who was always willing to share his experience. My mentor Sir Alister McIntyre always provided sage advice, indeed, I was wiser after every conversation. A very special appreciation must go to Professor Norman Girvan, teacher, mentor, and friend who contributed immeasurably to my intellectual growth and from whom I learnt much about being a professional econo- mist and policy advisor and who provided opportunities for my develop- ment. I learnt a great deal from working with Michael Manley on the v vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS South Commission and the various reports of the Socialist International Committee. During these meetings, I had a chance to interact with Julius Nyerere, Manmohan Singh, Jan Pronk, Stuart Holland, and Jorge Sol. I was fortunate to have met Willi Brandt, Carlos Andres Perez, and Rajiv Gandhi and to imbibe diplomacy by osmosis from Michael Manley, P.J. Patterson, David Coore, and Dudley Thompson. What I learnt I had a chance to develop and deploy because of the assignments and opportu- nities given to me by Michael Manley, P.J. Patterson, David Coore, and Bruce Golding to serve Jamaica and the Caribbean. Starting with my appointment as Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States and continuing in subsequent positions. Exposure and experience contribute imperceptibly to personal develop- ment. I have been in meetings too numerous to recount with presidents and prime ministers and heads of international and regional organizations. Among the most memorable interactions were those with President George Bush, President Carter, President, Clinton, President Fidel Castro, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Secretary of State General Colin Powell, Congressman Charles Rangel, Harry Belafonte, Enrique Iglesias, and Pascal Lamy. Especially inspirational was my conversation with Professor Sir W. Arthur Lewis. My tenure at the Workers Savings and Loan Bank was a period of sig- nificant professional development encouraged and fully supported by E. Lloyd Taylor, trade unionist, who had unlimited confidence in me and from whom I learnt a great deal. Managing in the banking and financial sector afforded me an enhanced understanding of the market and private enterprise while not losing sight of the role of the state. A special word of gratitude to Professor Anthony Payne of Sheffield University for assuring me of the importance of the project and that I should write it and did so with an eloquence of writing that I am still striv- ing to emulate. The very earliest draft was written and dictated during the struggle over the banana issue dating back to the 1990s. During this period, I was fortunate to have the skills of Janice Rowe-Barnwell. The editors Palgrave must be thanked for readily accepting my proposal and for their initiative, courtesy, encouragement, and patience. They would have had a more difficult task had it not been for the very thorough proof- reading and careful editing of Stephanie Cain and work of Lisa Hamilton- Braithwaite. The anonymous reviewer made useful suggestions. Hugh Small’s wise counsel was much appreciated. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii Many people helped in the fight to dissuade the United States govern- ment from dismantling the European Union banana regime. Praiseworthy were the ambassadors of the Caribbean countries including those that rep- resented countries that did not export bananas. They were gallant and tireless in their efforts. Vigorous and sustained support was provided by Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Randall Robinson of TransAfrica and advice on lobbying by Hazel Ross-Robinson and George Dalley. Among the stalwart supporters were the hard-working staff of the Embassy of Jamaica in Washington DC and Jamaica’s Permanent Mission to the Organization of American States during the time when I was Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the OAS. The book is based on notes, statements, and analyses written by me during the events related and reworked in the years since then. I retained extensive and detailed material in my personal files and I was able to draw on letters and correspondence meticulously preserved and filed by my secretary at the time, Mrs. Diane Smith-Brown. I kept the material because while the EU banana was ruled incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization in 1997, it was not replaced until 2010. During this time, I retained a feeling that an injustice had been perpetu- ated which was not in the interest of the USA and it was harmful to the small Caribbean islands that exported bananas. The passage of time had the advantage of allowing me to observe the implications in the Caribbean of the dismantling of the EU banana regime. I decided in 2019 to revisit the issue initially for my own clarification and in the course of writing, I felt that the story was worth sharing with the public in the form of a book. I approached Palgrave Macmillan who had published one of my earlier books and they agreed to publish. This provided the impetus to finish the manuscript. The process was long and arduous but fortunately, I imbibed a Calvinist work ethic and persistence from my father, Franklin and calmness from my mother, Kathleen. They facilitated my unlimited reading of anything and everything and Franklin set the example of writing books and the fondness for writing. The opportunity to complete the text was afforded me by the lock-down period following the global pandemic of the COVID-19 which saved much commuting time. I have dedicated previous books to my parents, wife, children, and grandchildren, all of whom have enriched my life and made this book viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS possible. In case this is my last book I do not want to miss the opportunity to dedicate this book solely to my late brother, Robert Franklin Bernal. I express my appreciation to the Rt. Hon. Professor Owen Arthur, former Prime Minister of Barbados for agreeing to write the foreword for this book. Unfortunately he died before completing the foreword. c ontents 1 O bjective and Organization 1 2 Corporate Influence in US Trade Policy 13 3 The Importance of Bananas in the Caribbean 41 4 The EU Banana Regime 63 5 Chiquita and Its Influence on US Trade Policy 99 6 Chiquita Overwhelms the Small Caribbean States 117 7 Impact of US Banana Policy on the Caribbean 179 8 Implications for US National Interest in the Caribbean 207 Bibliography 237 Index 269 ix A bbreviAtions AAFA American Apparel & Footwear Association ACP Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific ACTPN Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations AFL American Federation of Labor ALBA Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America BECO Banana Export Company of Jamaica BFA Banana Framework Agreement CARIBCAN Caribbean-Canada Trade Agreement CARICOM Caribbean Common Market and Community CBEA Caribbean Banana Exporters Association CBERA Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act CBI Caribbean Basin Initiative CBTPA Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act CET Common External Tariff CIA Central Intelligence Agency CIO Congress of Industrial Organizations COHA Council on Hemispheric Affairs CSME CARICOM Single Market and Economy DDA Doha Development Agenda DEA Drug Enforcement Agency DNC Democratic National Committee DSS Dispute Settlement System DSU Dispute Settlement Understanding EC Eastern Caribbean ECCU Eastern Caribbean Currency Union ECM European Common Market xi
The list of books you might like
