The confrontations of the United States and the European Union over various trade issues seem to have increased over the years as the EU has expanded in size and improved its institutional capacity for protecting the economic interests of its member states. The issues confounding the resolution of the Doha Round of trade negotiations, begun in 2001, highlight the differences in approaches of the two economic superpowers. Both, however, are committed to the rule of law in governing international trade through the operation of the World Trade Organization, created in 1995 at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The EU and the United States both consistently account for about 20% of international trade even as the total volume of trade increases annually more rapidly than world production. Once they agree on the rules and regulations to govern the administration of trade under the oversight of the WTO, the rest of the world finds it efficient to adopt the same procedures.

Nevertheless, the two economies dominate not only international trade and the world economy but also the number of disputes brought before the WTO. Of the 1,349 measures in force in mid-2004 by WTO members under the rubric of “anti-dumping” actions, the United States deployed by far the largest number, 293. India, belatedly opening up its economy to the forces of globalization, was in second place, with 216.