The Extraterritorial Income Exclusion (ETI), a tax break for U.S. exporters that has been ruled illegal by the WTO, appears unlikely to find any reasonable substitutes. In August, the Bush administration indicated that legislation to replace the tax break would probably not be forthcoming in light of the government's worsening budget deficit. At the same time, the White House's new budget director, Joshua Bolten, said, "We prefer that whatever fix is done to (ETI) be done in a neutral way." The development is a blow to big companies' hopes for tax relief, especially those with significant export business. The issue has caused such a fuss on the international trade scene, that the EU has threatened to impose as much as $4 billion in trade sanctions if the ETI wasn't eliminated. In the meantime, the search for a neutral solution continues with questionable prospects. Even the trade community seems a bit doubtful of President Bush's ability to come up with anything. "I wish him luck," quipped William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.