Apec leaders blame Europe for world trade deadlock

Asia-Pacific leaders including US president George Bush and China’s Hu Jintao sought to breathe life into stalled global trade negotiations at an annual summit today with a statement calling for a breakthrough in a stalemate with Europe over agricultural subsidies.

But the leaders, who clearly blamed Europe for the deadlock on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Busan, South Korea, stopped short of naming the continent in their statement on the World Trade Organisation talks. Officials said it was too politically sensitive to do so.