Farm subsidies come under scrutiny in trade talks

Ministers from the largest trade powers gather in Switzerland tomorrow to tackle once more the thorny issue of US and EU farm subsidies, with just two months remaining before a deadline for a framework global trade treaty.

Both US Trade Representative Rob Portman and European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, among the ministers from World Trade Organisation members expected to meet in Zurich, are under pressure to make difficult concessions, trade officials said.