Rich and poor divide as world trade talks fail

TALKS designed to change the face of farming around the world collapsed last night amid differences between rich and poor nations, the second failure for the World Trade Organisation in four years.

“It’s over,” said George Odour Ong’wen, a Kenyan delegate. “The differences were very wide, and it was impossible to close the gap.”

Developing nations, which had banded together to play a key role in negotiations, wanted to end rich countries’ agricultural subsidies. European nations and Japan were intent on pushing four new issues that many poor countries saw as a distraction. In the end, it was the diverging agendas of 146 member countries that split delegates beyond repair.