Castro condemns agreement

The agreement was ``unclear, contradictory and threatening for many countries, as well as being unethical,'' Castro said in a speech to the World Trade Organization, which is celebrating 50 years of the global trading system.

Under the agreement reached Monday in London, the United States would grant permanent waivers to
the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which imposes U.S. sanctions against foreign companies that do business with Cuba. In exchange, members of the 15-nation European Union agreed to join in creating a global registry of property confiscated by Cuba and other governments that would remain off-limits to investors.

Castro put the cost of the 37-year-old U.S. economic embargo against his country at $60 billion. Any settlement of differences between the United States and the European Union should not come at the expense of Cuba, he said. Such a settlement ``would be an inconceivable dishonor for Europe.''

The Europeans challenged Washington's unilateral sanctions before the WTO in October 1996. Last spring, they decided to suspend their case for a year to allow for a negotiated settlement.

Castro condemned what he called rich countries' domination of the WTO at the expense of developing countries.

``The Third World countries have been losing everything,'' he said. He cited ``tariffs that protected their emerging industries and produced revenues'' and preferential treatment for their exports.

Developed countries should follow the example of Norway in giving generous development assistance to the world's poorest countries, he said.

Castro also said he hopes the single European currency, the euro, will succeed as a credible alternative to the U.S. dollar.

``If the euro emerges as a strong and prestigious currency, welcome to the euro,'' he said. ``It would be of benefit to the world economy.''