TRADEOFF

In the culmination of a back-door deal between the U.S. and Europe, former Italian trade minister Renato Ruggiero today was appointed head of the new World Trade Organization. The U.S. initially opposed Ruggiero's appointment, contending he was a European protectionist. But the Clinton Administration this week struck a deal with other WTO members to let Ruggiero have just one four-year term at the helm with former South Korean trade minister Kim Chul-su as his deputy. Ruggiero had his own explanation for being a one-termer: "I'm 65 and I feel very well, but I don't want to end my days working very hard."