Bid to restart world trade talks

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Discussions have taken place to try and save the world trade talks which ended without agreement last month, Brazil's president says.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he has spoken to US President George Bush about the issue and intends to consult the Chinese and Indian leaders.

He said he was "optimistic" about the chances of the negotiations restarting.

The talks broke down after India and the US failed to reach agreement over tariffs to protect poor farmers.

The measure would have allowed developing countries to impose a special tariff on some agricultural goods in the event of a drop in prices or a surge in imports.

India and the US could not agree on the threshold for the tariff. An agreement...did not happen because of minor issues Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva <a class="" href="/1/hi/business/7517028.stm">Q&A: Crunch trade talks</a>

President Lula said he believed a deal could be reached if the US and India were able to resolve their differences.

"It might take a month or two, but an agreement is necessary because we need to guarantee for the poorest countries access to the market of the most developed ones," he said.

He said he planned to speak to the Chinese premier Hu Jintao during the next week and plans to call the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Negotiators had been "close to reaching an agreement and it did not happen because of minor issues", he said.

There was widespread disappointment at the failure of the latest session of talks in Geneva.

China said it was a serious setback for the world economy, while the EU described it as "heartbreaking".

It marked the end of the Doha Round of talks which was launched in 2001 with the aim of lifting millions out of poverty.

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