WTO trade talks collapse in Geneve

WTO Chief Pascal Lamy has announced that a crucial ministerial meeting seeking a breakthrough in the Doha Round of talks has collapsed after nine days of wrangling in Geneva.

World Trade Organisation (WTO) director general French Pascal Lamy attends a press conference after crucial trade talks collapsed, during the World Trade Organisation ministerial summit on trade liberalisation, at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters, in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, July 29, 2008.(AP Photo)

The WTO Chief said negotiations among the WTO's seven key members broke up mainly due to sharp differences on a special safeguards mechanism for agriculture in developing countries and cotton subsidies offered to farmers by the US.

The seven key members include the US, EU, Australia, Japan, Brazil, India and China.

Lamy admits this is a "serious setback" for the Doha

Round, which is scheduled to conclude by the end of the year.

The WTO chief says he needs to consult with WTO members to decide what to do next.

Trade and agricultural ministers from major WTO members have been meeting in Geneva since Monday, last week.

They were trying to reach an outline agreement on agriculture and non-agricultural market access, the two key areas of the Doha Round of talks.

But negotiations have been tough from the beginning and they have been on the verge of failure several times.

Some officials described this meeting as a last chance for the Doha round of trade talks launched seven years ago.

Developed and developing countries have missed repeated deadlines because of differences over agriculture and non agricultural market access.