"It's very good news that the United States and the European Union have agreed to settle the banana dispute. Ambassador Zoellick's persistence has paid off.
"This breakthrough ends a lingering trade dispute that complicated one of our most important bilateral relationships and undermined confidence in the World Trade Organization's ability to effectively resolve disputes between member countries. The WTO's capacity to provide an equitable, expeditious and mutually acceptable means of settling trade disputes is the central pillar of the multilateral trading system. Today's agreement removes a major impediment to the effective functioning of this system.
"In recent weeks, I personally urged both the European Union trade commissioner and the U.S. trade representative to find a way to resolve the banana dispute. With Commissioner Lamy, I emphasized how important it is for both the EU and the United States to rebuild confidence in our ability to work together. The agreement reached this morning will help do just that. I hope the same sort of practical approach can be used to settle other trade disputes.
"The most important, immediate consequence of today's settlement may be a fresh impetus to launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations this November at the WTO ministerial conference in Qatar. We still have a lot of work to do, but the prospects for starting a new round of global trade talks this year are better than they have been since the collapse of the Seattle WTO ministerial. I hope we can build on today's achievement in the days and weeks ahead."