BRUSSELS : A French Test
France may finally get its chance next Monday to veto the European Community’s trade agreement with the United States over soybeans and other oil-bearing plants.
The agreement, which headed off a set of punitive U.S. tariffs on French wine and other EC products when it was reached last November, would require the EC to reduce subsidies to oilseed growers. The French believe they can veto the agreement within the Community by insisting, as EC rules allow, that their vital national interest is at stake.
Their opportunity will come when EC foreign ministers hold one of their regularly scheduled meetings to consider what to do about generally deteriorating trade relations with the United States.
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.
