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EU, U.S. discuss Massachusetts Burm (r)



Subject: EU, U.S. discuss Massachusetts Burma boycott

Tuesday July 22 1:12 PM EDT 

EU, U.S. discuss Massachusetts Burma boycott

GENEVA (Reuter) - European Union, Japanese and U.S. officials met Tuesday
under the
umbrella of the World Trade Organization to discuss a Massachusetts law
hitting firms doing
business with Burma. 

But officials said the talks, formally called consultations and the first
step in the WTO's dispute
settlement procedure, would be treated as confidential and no details were
released. 

Backed by Japan, the EU says the law -- which took force in January --
violates the WTO's open
trading rules banning discrimination on political grounds. 

But Massachusetts officials -- who say the law is aimed at bolstering human
rights in military-ruled
Burma -- responded by accusing Brussels and Tokyo of interfering in the
state's domestic affairs. 

The law sets a pricing penalty on state procurements from companies -- both
U.S. and foreign --
that do business in Burma, whose human rights record has also been under
fire from the EU. 

The U.S. administration says it is consulting officials from the state and
with Brussels in a bid to
resolve the dispute. 

U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky has strongly criticized
Brussels' decision to go to
the WTO. In a statement last month, she said the move was ``a
counter-productive step,
particularly in light of efforts that the United States and the (EU) have
both taken to exert pressure
on the repressive Burma regime.'' 

Under WTO rules, if the consultations do not produce a solution within 30
days, the EU could ask
the 131-member organization's Dispute Settlement Body to set up a neutral
panel to determine
whether the law violates global trade accords.