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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ajax99 who wrote (18225)	3/9/2003 5:48:43 PM
From: Karen Lawrence	Respond to of 25898

EU, US keep fingers off trade trigger euobserver.com The US and the EU are in the process of negotiations to avoid the introduction of damaging trade sanctions. (Photo: EUobserver.com) Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy had the unenviable job of taking the US to task over high-profile trade disputes while preventing further damage to EU-US relations early this week. The latest trade negotiations took place in a high level meeting of EU and US trade representatives in Washington. The meeting between European Commissioner Pascal Lamy and his US counterpart Robert Zoelleck comes in the midst of numerous trade disputes between the world's two largest trading blocs. With transatlantic tension on the rise over foreign policy, both sides were eager not to worsen relations. "I think we both agree on the fact that the present geopolitical circumstances make it even more necessary that this EU-US trade agenda is handled with care and with a lot of co-operation," the Commissioner told Journalists. Concilliatory tone In contrast to previous exchanges both men carried a markedly more conciliatory tone but there continues to be real distance between the two parties on key issues. The US is keen to see the EU lift its moratorium on allowing Genetically Modified Organisms into the Union. The US is still convinced of the illegality of the EU's actions but is holding fire for now. No longer describing the EU's stance as "immoral" or "fearmongering", Trade Representative Zoellick's rhetoric indicated that the issue will not appear before the World Trade Organisation as soon as may have been the case. For his part, Pascal Lamy continued to press the US to implement tax reforms judged by the WTO to be unfair export benefits. The EU representative again sent a clear message to Washington's legislators that time was running out for them to avoid four billion euro worth of sanctions which the WTO has ruled the EU can impose against US products.