Getting your player ready...
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced late Wednesday that the United States is prepared to begin negotiations on a global treaty regulating trade in conventional weapons, but said Washington would sign the accord only if all other states agreed.
The move marks a shift in policy from the Bush administration, which opposed U.N. negotiations to regulate the $55- billion-a-year arms trade. The Obama administration hopes it can use the talks to press other governments to adopt a rigorous system of export controls similar to one put in place to regulate U.S. arms exports.
