US plans another meeting for trade agreement

Indicating that the negotiations were not making much headway at the sixth WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, the United States on Wednesday proposed another meeting early next year to complete an agreement on agriculture, industrial goods and services.

"Although we may not achieve all we had hoped for this week, let us set another deadline to keep the pressure on," Rob Portman, US trade representative said at the plenary session on the second day of the WTO Ministerial conference.

"We should not leave without setting a date early next year to come together again to break the deadlock so that our negotiators can complete work by the end of 2006," he said.

Making it clear that the only way to break the deadlock was by converging on tariff reduction formula for farm goods, Portman said the time had arrived to stop postponing the toughest work and asked everyone to work with vision, political courage and hope.

"I believe either we move forward or we risk moving backward towards protectionism that will stunt economic growth and harm developing countries the most...There is lot at stake. We cannot afford to fail," he said.

Portman said the US has come to Hong Kong with a determination to solidify and build on the gains that have been made since the July WTO framework was reached in 2004.