Business Briefs

German leader's comments sink euro value slightly

Comments by German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder that the European Central Bank (ECB) do something about the high price of the euro sank the currency's value slightly. In an interview with the Financial Times published Friday, Schröder said he assumed the ECB was looking into whether they are doing enough to keep Europe's exports competitive enough on the world market. The quote was interpreted by analysts as a call to bring down the high price of the euro, at $1.1342 earlier Friday. During the course of the day, the currency used in 12 European countries sank slightly to $1.1315.

WTO: America must drop steel tariffs

Ruling in favor of the European Union, Japan and six other countries, a World Trade Organization panel said that tariffs imposed by the United States on steel imports were illegal. The duties, placed in March 2002, angered countries with major steel industries. Switzerland, Korea, Norway, China, Brazil, Japan and the European Union countries filed a complaint with the WTO. The EU drew up a list of €2 billion worth of US imports it would retaliate on with sanctions on its own. The world trade body said the U.S. had five days to withdraw the tariffs.

Audi recalls thousands of cars because of defect

German car-maker Audi recalled 3,500 of its A3 models because of a defect. The Ingolstadt-based company said that a defect radiator part found in the cars could lead to performance problems. A small number of cars from the initial production load were affected. In specific, cars with the serial numbers 002500 to 006000 should be returned, said a spokesman.