BRUSSELS : Trade Deal’s Home Stretch
Four years of intensive negotiating by about 100 nations is scheduled to reach a climax next week when trade ministers converge on the Belgian capital to conclude a pact liberalizing trade in everything from computer equipment to tropical fruit.
Hanging over the talks is a longstanding dispute between the United States and the 12-nation European Community over continental agriculture subsidies that put American farmers at a disadvantage in competition for world markets.
The United States is also pressing to open trade in services and seeks international protection for patents, trademarks and copyrights.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
