Strasbourg visit for Zoellick

Date: 10/05/01

By Simon Taylor

US TRADE Representative Bob Zoellick is to meet Commissioner Pascal Lamy on European soil for the first time since his appointment by President George W. Bush, against a positive backdrop in EU-US trade relations.

They will meet in Strasbourg next week during the European Parliament's full session, where Zoellick will address the assembly's trade and industry committee.

The USTR's visit comes following a deal in the eight-year transatlantic banana dispute, but ahead of an interim ruling by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on US tax breaks for its multinational firms. The WTO is expected to give a judgement later this month on whether America's foreign sales corporation law, which saves US firms more than €4 billion in taxes each year, represents an unfair export subsidy.

US Trade Representative Bob Zoellick is to meet Commissioner Pascal Lamy on European soil for the first time since his appointment by President George W. Bush, against a positive backdrop in EU-US trade relations.