Geneva, October 19:

Ministers from top trade powers will gather on Wednesday to try to narrow differences on US and European Union farm tariffs and subsidies, the main sticking point in World Trade Organisation talks that aim to reach a wide-ranging agreement by the end of the year.

Officials from Washington and Brussels are expected, a day after US president George W Bush and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso pledged mutual interest to opening up world trade markets for agriculture.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson returns to Geneva after winning a vote of confidence from EU governments on Tuesday, facing down France, which had demanded guarantees that he make no excessive concessions at the expense of French farmers.

“My task in Geneva is to reassure WTO partners that the EU remains firmly committed to this negotiation,” Mandelson said. “The EU will show some further flexibility, indicating how we want to move forward on agriculture.”

He will be under pressure to make an improved offer on cutting European aid to farmers, a week after US Trade Representative Rob Portman gave negotiations a boost with a proposal to make deeper cuts in US farm support programs.

But Mandelson stressed that Brussels needs to see concessions on trade in industrial goods and service industries, otherwise EU member states may not be convinced that it is worth making concessions on farm aid.

“Our meetings this week must contain realism and broader ambition beyond agricultural issues if we are to move forward,” he added. Portman also is being pressed to improve the US offer, which poor countries contend does not actually force Washington to make “real cuts” to its farm support programs because some payments could be made exempt. Ministers from Australia, Brazil and India will also be present.

The WTO’s 148 members are supposed to agree at a December meeting in Hong Kong on an outline for a global trade deal to boost the world’s economy by lowering trade barriers across all sectors, with emphasis on developing countries.