From Reuters:
Ashton, who took over from Peter Mandelson last October, said a "new spirit" of transatlantic cooperation had been fostered by the U.S. administration under President Barack Obama.
So-called "carousel" duties from the United States in the beef dispute were one of then U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab's parting shots under George W. Bush. "I don't want to talk about the old administration or say whether we would have resolved the beef row ... but certainly of the new administration I can say this is much easier and I take the view we can resolve some issues," Ashton said.
