Banana War Maneuvers

Companies often resort to lobbyists and lawyers to fight unfair trade policies. But sometimes there are easier alternatives. Consider the case of Chiquita and Dole, organizations that faced restrictive new trade policies in the early 1990s that limited banana exports into Europe. Following World War II, Chiquita became Europe’s main banana provider, exporting to Germany […]

by

Marcelo Bucheli

by

Marcelo Bucheli

From the Magazine (November 2005)

Summary.

Reprint: F0511E

How Dole beat Chiquita by working around a restrictive EU trade policy instead of struggling against it.

Companies often resort to lobbyists and lawyers to fight unfair trade policies. But sometimes there are easier alternatives. Consider the case of Chiquita and Dole, organizations that faced restrictive new trade policies in the early 1990s that limited banana exports into Europe.

A version of this article appeared in the November 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review.

MB

Marcelo Bucheli (mbucheli@illinois.edu) is an assistant professor at the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Banana War Maneuvers

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