Associated Press

Paris, May 4:

Efforts to break a stalemate in global trade talks foundered as the European Union (EU) dug in its heels and vowed to defend its chickens, beef and rice.

Talks attended by top trade officials from the EU, United States, Brazil, India and Australia ended without agreement in Paris, a day before dozens of World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministers meet here in a bid to advance the Doha round of negotiations on a new global trade deal. The latest dispute in the highly charged talks on farm goods trade centers on the way import tariffs should be evaluated - before the haggling even starts on how much to cut them by. “These negotiations were very technical but today they turned out to be very political as well,” said EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel after the talks. Agricultural trade is sensitive for many European countries, especially France. During the same talks last year, the French government publicly criticized the EU trade commissioner at the time, Pascal Lamy, saying he gave away too much.

Under already agreed principles, a higher evaluation of import tariffs implies a heavier cut. EU beef, poultry, rice and dairy products would be particularly affected, said a Brussels official who asked not to be identified. “There are different positions and I’m sticking to the European position,” Fischer Boel said.

A compromise deal negotiated last month at the WTO Geneva headquarters collapsed after the EU pulled out, citing a technical ‘misunderstanding.’ Without fingering Brussels explicitly, Brazil on Monday accused rich countries of seeking to ‘paralyze’ the talks in order to wring further concessions from developing states. Richer agricultural exporters such as Australia

are also pressing the EU to open its markets. Brazilian and Australian ministers said little as they left Tuesday’s talks. “We’re still working on it and that’s good news,” said Australian trade minister Mark Vaile.

US trade representative Robert Portman declined to comment. “The problem hasn’t been solved yet,” said another US trade official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The US has a large farm export lobby as well as some high import tariffs, making it well placed to mediate in the dispute — an early challenge for Portman, who was sworn in only last Friday.

The WTO is running at least two years behind its goal of brokering a new global trade deal by the end of 2004. In order to reach a deal by 2006, its members have set themselves a July deadline for an outline deal covering all sectors.