Beamglow is suing the European Commission for 2m after its turnover fell by a third following the punitive tariffs imposed on European imports by the US in last year's "banana wars".


"We're suing for the loss of profit that we would have made. We were actively pursuing the US market as it doesn't seem to be as saturated as the European market," said Beamglow company secretary Adrian Brown.


In 1998, Beamglow opened a sales office in New York to target the US market, but was forced to close it in October 1999.


Beamglow is the first UK company to undertake legal action against the European Commission over its handling of the banana wars, although two other companies, one based in Germany and the other in Italy, are now involved in litigation proceedings.


The Cambridgeshire-based company specialises in a specific type of "soft" carton for cosmetics.


With the backing of the World Trade Organisation, the US increased import duty to 100% on selected European goods, including Beamglow's cartons, claiming that Europe's banana imports favoured former Commonwealth colonies.


"The writ will be issued this week, but the Council
of Ministers has already been informed," said Brown.
"It's the little companies that are being hit. It feels like you don't have a voice. We feel that it's time to take a stand."


Story by John Davies