[link|http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-07-25T114555Z_01_L25857985_RTRUKOC_0_US-TRADE-TALKS-US.xml|Reuters]

The United States on Tuesday accused the European Union of issuing a "false and misleading" statement blaming it for the suspension of global free trade talks.

In a statement issued by its Geneva trade mission, Washington said it hoped Brussels' "blamesmanship" would not jeopardize the "few chances left we have" of reviving the talks.

[link|http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aC29.CyyftAY&refer=europe|http://www.bloomberg...ftAY&refer=europe]

Trade experts on both sides of the Atlantic say the Bush administration's unwillingness to risk alienating Farm Belt supporters with cuts in agricultural subsidies was a key factor in the collapse of weekend talks in Geneva. The subsidy cuts were sought by the European Union and developing nations in exchange for agreeing to steep tariff reductions.

Lots of finger pointing going on, most is pointed at the US. But the EU is also catching flak for not being willing to reduce agricultural trade barriers as much as everybody else wanted.

The long term impact of this is impossible to gauge now. If it leads to an total collapse of the WTO it could be disasterous, but that is unlikely. If it leads to a rethinking of the WTO's role and a reworking of some of it's bad treaties, then it could turn out to be a good thing in the long run.

Most likely it just means that the trade negotiations will be halted till the US has a new president. And then attempts will be made to restart it.

Jay