WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday the U.S. loss to the EU in a major trade case over tax breaks for exporters heightened the need for both sides of the Atlantic to work harder on launching a new round of global trade talks.
"We're obviously disappointed to lose the case," Zoellick told reporters after a meeting with House of Representatives Republicans. "It's a sensitive matter because of the size of the economics involved and because it deals with tax systems."
Zoellick said the United States was committed to living up to its World Trade Organization obligations in the case, but would consult with members of Congress and industry before deciding "what to do" next.
Zoellick told reporters he has discussed the WTO panel preliminary confidential ruling with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy.
"If anything, I think it convinces both of us the reason the need to work together more closely to get the round launched" because of the potential for such trade disputes to undermine the global trading system, he said.:
