Building Blocs

This past weekend, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin gathered nervously in St. Petersburg. Trade with Iraq has ceased and Europe is concerned that the U.S. military victory may shut it out of an export market that years ago was one of its best in the Middle East. "Iraq used to be extremely important for us," says Brian Constant, director general of the London-based Middle East Association, which lobbies on behalf of 400 British companies with business interests in the region. "The opportunities will be great if there's a level playing field — but...