EU To U.S.: We Beg To Differ On Trade

ByJohn S. McClenahen Since 1995 the U.S. and the 15-nation European Union (EU) have been committed to lowering the barriers that hinder the flow of goods, services, and investment across the Atlantic Ocean. Bilateral actions still don't match the rhetoric, however. The EU currently has 11 cases against the U.S. in the World Trade Organization, including one challenging the 1916 Antidumping Act. The EU also is protesting legislation that allows the U.S. to rotate the products under trade sanction every six months. And beginning Oct. 1 the EU expects to impose trade sanctions to counter the so-called Foreign Sales Corp., a U.S. business tax shelter for foreign-earned income, unless Congress modifies or eliminates the tax code between now and then.