EU Trade ministers will meet this weekend in Paris to discuss how to improve coordination of the Union’s trade policy and the implications of the US election

Date: 30/11/00

The meeting, called at short notice by the French presidency, comes amid increasing hopes that the EU can resolve some of the outstanding disputes with Washington ahead of a planned transatlantic summit on 18 December. Ministers will also discuss the impact a new US administration under George W. Bush would have on chances of launching a wide-ranging round of international trade negotiations next year.