It is perhaps strange that a fruit should be at the centre of what was almost a trade war between the usa and the European Union.France and Britain wanted to protect the interests of banana producers in their excolonies, especially in the West Indies, against US companies operating out of Central America. The USA claimed that this was againtst the rules of international competition and free trade. The WTO decided in favour of the isa but the Europeans refused to recognize the decision. It was only following a second WTO judgement against the EU, and the USA's imposition of huge tariffs on unrelated goods that they finally agreed to obey the decision. It remains to be seen how well banana growers in the West Indies can survive as Central American countries have a comparative advantage in climate, land, and labour costs.