[WTO talks Doha round] global trade talks collapse

from CNN

GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Global free trade talks collapsed on Monday after nearly five years of on-off haggling and resuming them could take years, officials and diplomats said.

The suspension of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha round, which was expected to be announced formally by WTO chief Pascal Lamy later on Monday, came after major trading powers failed in a last ditch bid to overcome differences on reforming world farm trade, which lies at the heart of the round.

"The WTO negotiations are suspended," Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told journalists. When asked how long the suspension could last, he replied: "Anywhere from months to years," he said.

Lamy had warned members of the so-called G6 late on Sunday that he would halt the Doha Development Agenda -- launched in 2001 to ease poverty and boost the global economy -- without a quick end to the deadlock, diplomats said earlier.

But 14 hours of talks between the six -- the United States the European Union, Brazil, Australia, Japan and India -- yielded no breakthrough in slashing farm subsidies and lowering agricultural tariffs.

The United States said the EU and other WTO members that it calls "protectionist" had not done enough to lower farm tariff barriers to allow it to move further on subsidies.

But EU Trade Commission Peter Mandelson pointed a finger at the United States, telling journalists Washington "was unwilling to accept or indeed to acknowledge the flexibility shown by others."

Despite the debacle, all members of the G6 said that they remained committed to the multilateral trading system and to completing the Doha round, even if they could not say how or when the negotiations could be revived.

"It is a big failure. Whether it is going to be definitive only time will tell," said EU Agriculture Commission Mariann Fischer Boel.

The crisis recalled a similar breakdown in 1990 during the previous round of free trade negotiations -- the Uruguay Round. That round, launched in 1986, was only finished in 1993.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim noted "there is always a risk of some unraveling" of progress to date in the negotiations.

"The silver lining is that all those who spoke continue to be committed," he said.

The round has been billed as a once-in-a-generation chance to boost global growth and lift millions out of poverty.

The G6 countries account for some three quarters of world trade and represent a wide range of commercial interests.

Washington says its offer to reduce subsidy limits by 60 percent is significant but trade rivals argue the cuts leave real spending unaffected.

"We won't give up ... (but) unfortunately it became clear that a 'Doha Light' is the preferred option of some," said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

Diplomats said Mandelson had spelt out how close Brussels could get to the level of tariff and subsidy cuts demanded by developing countries, but that was not enough for the United States.