A deal on key farm and manufacturing elements of a long-sought world trade agreement is unlikely to be reached in the foreseeable future after talks collapsed today, EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said this evening.
"I have to say to you in all honesty, I don't think there's any realistic chance of modalities being agreed this year or in the foreseeable future," Mr Mandelson said.
"That is a source of profound regret for us in the European Union," Mr Mandelson added at a news conference after nine days of intense negotiation aimed at reaching a breakthrough in the nearly seven-year-old Doha round ended in failure.
The trade talks collapsed this afternoon after a clash over agriculture between the United States and emerging powers, including China, India and Indonesia.
The United States and India failed to find a compromise on measures intended to help poor countries protect their farmers against import surges, a diplomat said.
"We were so close to getting this done," US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters at World Trade Organisation headquarters in Geneva. Global negotiators have worked on the Doha trade round for seven years.
"The US remains committed to the Doha round. This is not a time to talk about a round collapsing," said Ms Schwab. "The US commitments remain on the table, awaiting reciprocal responses."
The collapse also prompted disappointment in other countries that had stood to gain from another round of trade opening.
"It's really bad news. It's sad to have lost so many years of work. For an emerging market, it is worrying to see a WTO that is not strong," said Soraya Rosar, director of international negotiations with Brazil's National Industry Confederation.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) chief Pascal Lamy said he expected he would attempt to revive talks for a global trade deal but it was not possible to say how or when it might happen.
"I will have to discuss this with the members but my initial reaction is not a reaction of 'throw in the towel,'" Mr Lamy told reporters.
Peter Power, a spokesman for European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, said the failure was “a massive blow to confidence in the global economy”.
Failure to find agreement on the core agriculture and industrial goods chapters of the Doha trade round could delay any final accord on trade liberalisation for several more years.
Washington had opposed a push from India, China and Indonesia to secure measures to protect their farmers if faced with sudden surges of cheap farm imports. Developing country exporters like Uruguay and Costa Rica also rejected the proposal, fearing it would shut them out of growth markets for food in other developing nations.
The impasse derailed substantial progress that had been made on other agricultural, manufacturing and services trade issues.
As failure looked likely, New Zealand's trade minister, Phil Goff, said: “I hope ... that what we've achieved this week can be used at least to build on as a foundation for the future".
The trade talks began in 2001, shortly after the September 11th attacks on the United States, in the hope of boosting the world economy and helping poor countries. They have lurched from crisis to crisis and risk further years of delay without a breakthrough now because of the US presidential election in November and other factors.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith are representing Ireland at the WTO talks in Geneva.
REUTERS