WTO talks posturing veils state self-interests

BATTERED on the home front, British prime minister Tony Blair has turned his attention to the forthcoming round of international trade talks.

Blair has pledged to wage a monumental struggle to kick-start stalling WTO negotiations in an effort to ease the continuing controversy over subsidies, particularly those doled out to European farmers for decades.

As well as being British prime minister, Blair as the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, is attempting to breathe life into the stalled WTO talks.