Opposition from several Latin American countries threatens to derail the deal reached last April by the EU and the US over banana imports to Europe. The Financial Times reports that Panama, Honduras, Guatamala and Nicaragua objected to the EU's request on 31 July that WTO rules be waived so that it could implement the new banana import rules agreed with the US. There is now a possibility that the EU will be unable to meet the 1 January 2002 deadline it agreed with the US for the next stage of amendments to the banana regime.