Occidental Petroleum Corp. has asked Washington to...

Occidental Petroleum Corp. has asked Washington to drop Venezuela from a list of countries that can export goods duty-free to the United States, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Caracas said. She said the U.S. special trade representative in Washington would announce by July 15 if it would accept Occidental’s petition for review. Planning Minister Modesto Freites said the United States should ignore Occidental’s request. Occidental, which formerly operated in Venezuela, has been seeking compensation for the nationalization of its assets 12 years ago.