Do Escalating Trade Disputes Signal Sea Change In Europe-U.S. Relations?

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 1999--

Is Foreign Policy the Next Battleground?

On Tuesday, April 6, 1999, top officials from government and business will meet at an important seminar in the nation's capital to discuss European-American relations.

The conference titled "U.S. Policy for the New Europe," organized jointly by the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., and New York-based Niche Systems, Inc., will be held at the Dean Acheson Auditorium in the State Department.

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is a critical step towards European political integration, by which Europe will ultimately counterbalance U.S. power on the world stage. What are the implications of the following issues:

-- Fundamental cultural differences between the U.S. and Europe -- the scope of social programs, the perceptions of the safety of genetically engineered foods and the differences in data privacy enforcement.

-- Oil denominated in euros.

-- A unified European foreign and military police that may have different priorities such as EU's support for a Palestinian state.

-- A Europe increasingly viewed as protectionist by American policy makers -- for example, the dispute whether hush-kits for U.S. jetliners meet EU noise legislation.

-- Does a closer link between the EU and Mercosur undercut NAFTA's advantages for the U.S.?

How will all this reshape the Atlantic Alliance? What impact will this ultimately have on global trade and commerce? And what does all this do to American dominance of world trade?

Conference speakers include: Donald Bandler, Special Assistant to the President and Counselor to National Security Advisor for the NATO summit; Edwin M. Truman, Assistant Secretary for International Affairs, U.S. Treasury Department; Ambassador David Aaron, Under Secretary for International Trade, U.S. Dept. of Commerce; Peter Rodman, Director of National Security Programs at the Nixon Center; Sarwar A. Kashmeri, President of Niche Systems and a leading American euro expert, and Ambassador Hugo Pacmen, Head of the EU Delegation to the United States.

The seminar will be introduced by Philip Merrill, former Assistant Secretary-General of NATO, publisher of The Washingtonian Magazine, and Founder of the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C.

"The economic and political integration of Europe started as a shared vision between our closest allies and us," said Niche Systems' President Sarwar A. Kashmeri. "Now, as the Europeans begin to implement this vision, we must remember our role in helping create it, and ensure a successful outcome which is in both our best interests. Niche is pleased to join the World Affairs Council to provide the first public forum where the formulation of this policy can be discussed."

The World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C., with an active membership of 2,000 individuals, is the largest non-profit, non-partisan organization in the capital dedicated to increasing the public awareness about international issues. Niche Systems is a New York-based consulting firm specializing in the commercial impact of EMU on U.S. companies.

For more conference details, please view the Niche website at: www.nsinc.com or the World Affairs Council of Washington, D.C. at www.worldaffairsdc.org.