Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
July 30, 2008

WTO Talks Collapse Over Agricultural Disputes 
----------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1D7618F:A6F02AD83191E16020CDA614636ED10498CBE7246176B735&
 
US, developing countries unable to settle a dispute over protection of
farmers in emerging economies 
Susan Schwab, U.S. trade representative, announces the talks collapse
during the second week of the WTO ministerial summit in Geneva, 29 Jul
2008World Trade Organization talks in Geneva have collapsed after
members were unable to reach a compromise on agricultural import
rules.Delegates said Tuesday the United States and developing countries
were unable to settle a dispute over measures regarding protection of
farmers in emerging economies.The measures would have imposed tariffs to
protect farmers in case of a sudden surge in goods on the market or a
drop in prices.Earlier, China and India accused the United States of
refusing to negotiate on the issue while U.S. officials accused them of
backing out of an earlier agreement. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy
described the situation as a "serious setback" but indicated an interest
in reviving talks. Trade representatives from the United States and
Brazil also refused to discount future negotiations.The current
negotiations, !
 known as the Doha Round, have made little progress towards a world
trade pact since they were launched in 2001.Disagreements between rich
and poor countries have repeatedly stalled the talks.Emerging nations
have demanded wealthy countries reduce agricultural subsidies which they
say give farmers in developed countries an unfair advantage in an open
market.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Bloomberg
and Reuters.


.