71.   The United States was accused of delaying the selection of Ruggiero, a former Italian trade minister, because of concerns that his background and approach were too bureaucratic.

72.   The way is now clear for China and Taiwan to receive formal approval for membership at a meeting of trade ministers in Doha, Qatar, in November.

73.   The trade minister, Sergio Amaral, says a new law offering tax breaks to information-technology firms is leading to higher investment.

74.   The trade ministers will seek to reach agreement on key WTO issues including ways to implement existing commitments under the Uruguay Round of world trade talks.

75.   The twice-yearly, four-way discussion is known as the quadrilateral trade ministers meeting.

76.   Their leader, Tim Fischer, who will be deputy prime minister and trade minister in the new government, is a strong believer in the free market.

77.   The U.S. trade representative, Mickey Kantor, and Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown met this afternoon with the Japanese trade minister, Ryutaro Hashimoto.

78.   There will be a lot of talk starting Monday among trade ministers about how widely various closed doors should be opened.

79.   They are so close that Hashimoto, the trade minister and LDP star, is currently association president.

80.   This year, the trade ministers have asked an APEC committee to explore that further.