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UPDATE 1-Ecuador threatens Doha deal over banana dispute
(Adds government statement, background, details)
QUITO, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Ecuador said on Wednesday it would not agree to agricultural accords in the Doha global trade talks next month if the European Union fails to settle a long-running banana dispute by then.
"Unfortunately, our country will not agree to the consensus to settle the agriculture terms of the (Doha) round ... if this problem is not properly resolved by then," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The world's top banana exporter reacted hours after the World Trade Organization upheld a ruling against the EU in the lung-running "banana wars" pitting Brussels against the United States and Latin American producers.
Brussels responded by saying it accepted the ruling and intended to seek a resolution to the dispute in the context of negotiations over the Doha Round global trade treaty, which world leaders are seeking to clinch next month.
A top government official told Reuters later that Latin American banana producers were demanding that the EU lower import tariffs on the fruit, beginning with a series of cuts starting next year.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said the EU should eventually cut its current duty of 176 euros ($225) per tonne of bananas to 114 euros ($146) in eight years.
Latin American states came close to securing a deal with the EU during a WTO ministerial meeting in July, but Brussels walked away from the deal when the broad Doha negotiations fell apart. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by Peter Cooney)
