Economic warfare

Reuters Kerry: spying row shouldn't cloud U.S.-EU trade talks 5 November 2013 European concerns about alleged electronic eavesdropping by U.S. intelligence should not be allowed to cloud trade talks next week between the United States and the European Union, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

The US spying on its allies is not merely a security issue. In the setting of trade negotiations, espionage carries potential analogous to criminal insider dealing, constituting an act of economic warfare.