Brussels, 13/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - At the second informal US-EU economic ministerial meeting, held in Washington on 9 November, Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen, Finnish Industry Minister and current President of the Competitiveness Council Mauri Pekkarinen, US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, US Trade representative Susan Schwab and US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman reviewed joint progress made since the EU-US Summits of 2005 and 2006 in areas of trans-Atlantic trade, particularly innovation and intellectual property rights (adoption last June of a joint strategy to combat piracy and counterfeiting, see EUROPE 9216 and 9217). They also agreed to increase efforts to remove regulatory barriers to trade and investment and to support innovation, mainly by focusing on a limited number of projects in the motor car industry, nanotechnology and healthcare sectors. Finally, the two sides discussed issues related to energy security and Doha Round multilateral trade negotiations. The next EU-US Summit will take place in the first half of 2007. (eh)