INTERNATIONAL

Gap in Trade Talks Said to Be Closing: The United States and the European Community said they were closing the gap in a farm dispute holding up a world trade pact. Although EC Farm Commissioner Ray MacSharry said he was preparing to meet U.S. Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan, U.S. officials said no such meetings were scheduled between the two top agriculture officials. “But the lines of communication are still open,” a U.S. official said. France was still resisting a deal with just a week to go until the U.S. presidential election, widely regarded as a last deadline for a deal this year.