Brussels, 27/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - As the European Union takes a step closer to possible sanctions against US trade (see yesterday's Europe, p. ), the United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick warned the deeply divided US Congress on Wednesday that the US had not choice but to comply with the WTO verdict condemning the Exclusion from Territorial Income scheme for Foreign Sales Corporations (ETI/FSC). Addressing Congress' Ways and Means Committee, Robert Zoellick said the Europeans would hold back for a while, but he didn't know how long. "I don't necessarily believe you're going to get the full $4 bn, but at some point they're going to start to retaliate", he said.
Speaking about the US Administration's plans with regard to the Genetically Modified Organisms, Zoellick simply repeated that the EU should lift its ban, adding that the US was working with others to find the most effective way to ensure it does.