Trade talks fail to get Doha plan

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Trade and farming ministers have failed to find an agreement that would have revived World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, despite two days of meetings.

Ministers from the European Union, US, India and Brazil had tried to restart the stalled Doha round of discussions.

So far, the talks have been held up by disagreements about farm subsidies.

The ministers, who met in Brussels, said the gathering was "productive", and they remained hopeful and committed that an agreement could be reached.

Meeting again

"We have had two days of intensive dialogue on advancing the Doha round," the ministers said in a statement.

"Our meetings were productive and included discussions in all the core negotiating areas," they said, adding that they planned to meet again next month.

"We will continue to hold intensive talks at the senior official and minister levels in the coming weeks with a view to find convergence.

"We remain committed and hopeful that our efforts, coupled with the work being done at the multilateral level in Geneva, will lead to a successful conclusion of this round by the end of this year," the ministers said.

Ticking clock

Negotiators are hoping to reach an agreement before US President George W Bush's "fast track" authority runs out on 30 June.

Under the fast track legislation, the US Congress may approve or reject trade deals but cannot amend them.

The Doha round began in 2001 amid high hopes of a global trade deal that boost the global economy and help millions escape from poverty.

The US and EU are under pressure to reduce the subsidies they pay to their farmers as well as cutting the customs duties they charge on imports of agricultural products.

In return, developing nations are supposed to open their markets up to industrial goods and services from the rest of the world.

"We know where the trade-offs are in agriculture now," the WTO's director general Pascal Limy said on Wednesday. "The only question is how much."