27/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - All the actors in the oilseed sector of the European Union, gathered together under the European Oilseed Alliance (EOA) asked on Thursday that the "injury suffered" resulting from the American policy of subsidising its soya farmers be corrected. The setting up, in 1998, of new American aid to the production of soya has generated an increase of 25% of sowed surface in the United States, whereas world rates have dropped steeply, officials at the EOA point out, according to AFP. 67% of the value of soya beans in the United States are said to be subsidised. In accordance with the GATT agreements of 1994, the EU is obliged to reduce aid to oilseeds by 33%. If no agreement can be reached between the EU and the United States, the EOA could lodge a complaint before the WTO for obstacle to trade.