As I set out in my written answer to the hon. Member on 27 February 2007, Official Report, columns 1196-97W, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) remains our top trade priority, but we welcome German proposals to tackle non-tariff barriers between the EU and US, which are not part of the DDA negotiations.
My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister attended the 8-9 March European Council in Brussels. Discussions covered a wide range of issues, including the EU-US relationship. Council Working Groups in Brussels have been discussing deepening EU-US Economic Co-operation and preparations for the EU-US summit more broadly.
We remain a strong supporter of promoting EU-US economic co-operation and integration in this sense and are keen to see further progress under the German presidency. Deepening economic co-operation between the EU and the US will not only bring the benefits of helping to remove remaining barriers to trade and investment but also serve as a positive step towards a more flexible and efficient global economy.
We will continue discussions with the Commission, our EU partners and the US in the run up to the EU-US summit on 30 April.