The U.S. wants the European Union to stop trying to weigh down trade rules with environmental considerations. (Silly Europeans, what were they thinking?) In a face-off at the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and E.U. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy argued about how international environmental agreements should interact with World Trade Organization rules. Zoellick said, “If Europe keeps pushing things in the environmental area that look threatening to the developing world, we’re not going to be able to move forward.” Lamy countered, “If it were only a European view, I would say environment should trump trade rules, but since we live on the same planet, I would say they have to be on the same footing.”
