U.S.-Europe trade tensions

For over a year now there have been warnings in the international media of an economic conflict between the U.S. and Europe. Economic and political relations between the two are going through a confrontational stage.

The latest incident is a U.S. tax on a "black list" of European products -- Washington's response to the preferential treatment that the European Union gives for bananas coming from ex-European colonies.

These "sanctions" could be the prelude to an offensive that America seems determined to wage against what it terms as "fortress Europe."

The U.S. will need to change tariffs in order to draw international investment away from the attractive euro zone. This could open the way to "tax wars" with a potential result far more serious than any "sanctions" on bananas.

-- Il Messaggero, Rome