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Where the U.S. & Europe Meet

Where the U.S. & Europe Meet The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization resulted in the easiest kind of deal — one in which each country agreed to what it already planned to do. The European Union agreed to eliminate its export subsidies for agricultural products by 2013, a move hailed as a breakthrough even though a similar timetable is included in the EU budget. The United States agreed to eliminate its cotton subsidies by 2006 — convenient, because Congress is already planning to eliminate them by August of that year. The U.S. also agreed to pare

Bush presses Europe for deep farm subsidy cuts

Bush presses Europe for deep farm subsidy cuts Days before a U.S.- European Union summit meeting, President George W. Bush said Thursday that world trade talks had reached a critical moment and that Europe needed to move on farm subsidies - a move that Washington is prepared to match. Its tough sledding right now, Bush said. The World Trade Organizations director general, Pascal Lamy, has set an end-of-June deadline for countries, meeting in Geneva, to agree on formulas for cutting farm subsidies and reducing agricultural and manufacturing tariffs - something that has eluded negotiators in more than four

Portman blames deadlock on Europe

Portman blames deadlock on Europe U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman singled out the European Union for holding up stalled global trade talks Wednesday and exhorted fellow World Trade Organization delegates to break a deadlock over agriculture. "Unless the EU moves on market access, I don't see anyone else moving," Portman, former Congressman from Terrace Park, told reporters on the sidelines of the WTO gathering. The EU's refusal to further cut its farm subsidies and import tariffs has been blamed by many delegates for the deadlock in the WTO's so-called Doha round of trade negotiations. Poor nations say trade barriers protecting the agricultural

EU leaders carry competing visions of Europe into crucial meeting

EU leaders carry competing visions of Europe into crucial meeting EU leaders opened a two-day summit meeting on Thursday amid acrimonious disagreements over the bloc's proposed seven-year budget that threaten to plunge the Union into political and economic paralysis. At issue in the talks are two competing visions of Europe: One calls for generous transfers of aid from the wealthy nations of the West to the formerly Communist nations of the East, as well as generous subsidies for uncompetitive industries, like farming; the other envisions a leaner association of nation states that focuses instead on economic modernization, especially in the slow-growing

Europe’s ties to Mediterranean remain difficult

Europe's ties to Mediterranean remain difficult EU governments looking for stronger bonds with their southern neighbors face a grim challenge -- keeping Euro-Mediterranean links on track despite continuing political turmoil and violence in the Middle East. Europe's uphill and mostly unsuccessful struggle to keep Arab-Israeli discord from infecting the 35-nation Euro-Med partnership was in full display at a summit of EU, North African and Middle East leaders which ended in Barcelona on Monday. Hailed as a celebration of 10 years of Euro-Med ties, the two-day meeting faltered on Middle East issues, forcing delegates to hammer out watered-down compromises and fudged statements. The summit got