EU trade chief sees big gaps still in WTO push

STRASBOURG, France, May 22 (Reuters) Big differences are still blocking global trade talks that are now in a critical phase, Europe's trade chief Peter Mandelson said on Tuesday, adding he would not back a deal that fell short of EU aims.

''The gaps are still wide, both inside agriculture, and between agriculture and industry and services,'' Mandelson told the European Parliament, although a deal could yet be done by the latest target date of end-2007.

They were his first public comments since the European Union, the United States, India and Brazil met for two days last week to try to take forward the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha round of negotiations for a global free trade deal.

The comments were also less upbeat than some statements recently from other ministers about the talks.

A next meeting of the four core WTO members is scheduled for mid-June.

The Doha round was launched in 2001 to boost the global economy and fight poverty.

But it has missed deadline after deadline and without a deal backed by the WTO's 150 member countries before the August holidays, it risks further years of delay or all-out collapse.

Mandelson said he would not allow other countries to get away without offering real, new access to their markets.

Most of the wrangling has been over agriculture but EU officials fear big developing nations such as Brazil will not offer the kind of tariff cuts and concessions that would give new opportunities to EU manufacturers and service providers.

''I will insist on this basic principle -- that there should be real cuts and effective reductions from all key players and in all key areas,'' Mandelson said.

''Real market access in agriculture is worth real farm subsidy reductions and real cuts in industrial goods tariffs. The level of ambition of the final package in agriculture and in industrial tariffs are inextricably linked.'' Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, speaking after last week's talks in Brussels, said he had told Mandelson that his country's offer did represent real access.

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