INTERNATIONAL

EC-U.S. Trade Feud Continues: The European Community slammed U.S. threats to impose trade sanctions in response to barriers that would block American firms from selling communications equipment to the 12-nation EC trading bloc. U.S. Trade Representative Carla Anderson Hills on Friday warned the community that “appropriate sanctions” would be applied by Jan. 1 if the EC goes ahead with a plan that could favor European companies in bidding for government projects. The two sides remain deadlocked in talks under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the 108-nation body that aims to remove barriers to world trade.