Key Trade Ministers Fail to Achieve Breakthrough on Global Trade Deal (1/2)

With six trade ministers from major economic powers in one room there was anticipation of a breakthrough for stalled talks on liberalizing global commerce.

When they emerged late Thursday to face reporters in a New Delhi hotel, Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim announced no breakthrough, but some progress.

"No breakthrough reached in New Delhi - that's probably the headline tomorrow, I do believe that we had, well, if not exactly a breakthrough, we had a big step ahead in terms of process."

The ministers from Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States announced that they agreed to try by the end of the year to conclude the so-called Doha round of 150-member World Trade Organization talks.

U.S. trade representative Susan Schwab says top trade officials now have a sense of urgency that hopefully can be translated into action.

"Unfortunately the history of the Doha Round up to this point has been the setting of artificial deadlines and the failure to meet those deadlines."

The United States has resisted making deeper cuts to subsidies for American farmers. That has prompted the Europeans to hold firm on protecting their farmers.