U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick has been in Europe for several days. On Monday and Tuesday (April 4 and 5) he answered interview questions about the WTO DG race. I've posted transcripts of his answers here and here.
The posts above link to early coverage of the story. Here's some links to additional coverage. The Calcutta Telegraph headlined a Reuters story, "US to back Lamy as next WTO chief". MSNBC's headline on an AP story read, "U.S. supports EU's pick to head WTO". EUobserver.com: "US supports Lamy for head of WTO". The National Business Review of New Zealand: "World Trade: Lobbying starts for next leader". The stories themselves show that Zoellick stopped just short of a formal endorsement of Lamy over the other candidates.
Bloomberg News (via India's Financial Express, April 6): Lamy is `Strong Candidate' for Top WTO Job: Zoellick supplemented the story with two paragraphs on potential congressional opposition to Lamy:
"The Bureau of National Affairs last month reported that Lamy faces ``substantial opposition on Capitol Hill'' for his decision during his final days as European Union trade commissioner in November to take the U.S. to the WTO over tax legislation...
Citing unidentified staffers for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William Thomas of California, BNA said the two legislators ``are angry with Lamy over his decision'' to challenge the U.S. over a tax law that replaced earlier legislation that had been deemed illegal by the WTO. "
Revised 4-6-05
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