-Caveat Lector- EUROPEAN UNION [01/19] EU seeks last-ditch reprieve from U.S. sanctions BRUSSELS, Jan 19 (Reuters) - European Union diplomats said they will try on Wednesday to make a last ditch effort to head off a half-billion dollars in sanctions threatened by the U.S. in the latest round in a trade war over bananas. Washington intends next Monday to seek World Trade Organization (WTO) authorization to slap punitive 100 percent duties on a wide range of EU imports on the grounds that the 15-nation bloc has persistently failed to bring its banana import regime into line with WTO rules. If the request for sanctions is made, authorization is sure to follow, since it would take a unanimous WTO decision to reject it. The sanctions -- on goods ranging from cashmere sweaters to pork -- could cost EU exporters about $520 million a year, according to U.S. calculations. EU sources told Reuters the bloc appeared to have only limited options for preventing the sanctions. It could refuse to let next Monday's WTO meeting go ahead, but that would mean stalling other business that was in its own interest. It could appeal to the Geneva-based WTO to rule that the sanctions were excessive and should be reduced to a more reasonable level. Or it could ask the WTO to set up a disputes settlement panel to rule whether Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act -- which allows the U.S. to invoke unilateral sanctions in a trade row -- was legitimate under global free trade rules, the officials said. But a U.S. official in Brussels said nothing short of a negotiated EU-U.S. settlement to the dispute could stave off sanctions. "It's in the hands of the EU," the U.S. official said, "if they can see their way clear to negotiating with the U.S. in good faith and good form." She rejected the EU's argument that the best way to end the bitter row was for the WTO, as an independent arbiter whose ruling would be binding, to judge whether the latest version of the banana regime complied with free trade rules. The EU and Ecuador requested the creation of such a panel last week to examine the newest import arrangements, which took effect on January 1. But the U.S. official said there was no guarantee the EU would genuinely respect a WTO ruling against it. "There's nothing to stop the EU changing a comma and saying the regime is now in compliance with the WTO ruling, and putting us back where we started all over again," she said. Last Updated: 01/19/99 19:17 EST Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. http://legalnews.findlaw.com View without frames ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Copyright � 1994-1998 FindLaw Inc. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
