Zoellick says WTO talks stalling on EU, Japan farm support

The top US trade official said worldwide trade negotiations are doomed unless Japan and Europe agree to drop their agricultural subsidies.

The warning from US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick comes 10 days after informal talks on agriculture in Tokyo broke down. The World Trade Organization is struggling to meet its March 31 deadline for having a plan to open farm trade.

Lack such a framework threatens progress on a wider agreement by the 145 member nations of the WTO to lower barriers to products ranging from industrial equipment to financial services worth an estimated US$700 billion over a decade.

"Unless we get movement from Europe and Japan on agriculture, I just see this thing" stalling, Zoellick told the House Ways and Means Committee. "We're not going to move forward until we make progress on agriculture."

Negotiators trying to keep agriculture from dominating a meeting of trade ministers from all WTO members September in Cancun, Mexico. Members expect to use that meeting to deal with other issues, such as patents.