By Robin Pomeroy and Doug Palmer
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States, the European Unionand emerging economic heavyweights tried again on Tuesday tobridge huge differences and unblock a trade deal aimed atdelivering a boost to the world's flagging economy.
On the second day of crunch talks at the World TradeOrganisation, delegates were hoping for movement from richercountries to help break the deadlock.
"People are expecting a number today to get the processgoing," an EU diplomat said, referring to hopes the UnitedStates would announce a long-awaited figure for a new ceilingfor its farm subsidies.
The week-long negotiations are seen as the last chance tosave the seven-year-old Doha round of trade talks beforeNovember's U.S. presidential election which would put furthertalks on ice, possibly for a couple of years.
Billed as the 'development round', the new wave of tradeliberalisation is supposed to help poorer countries by openingmarkets to their exports and reducing rich countries'subsidies.
India said the latest proposals were still skewed in favourof rich countries, and developing countries needed to protecttheir subsistence farmers and their infant industries.
"We hope that these flaws would get addressed, balance willbe restored... during the course of the negotiations. Then andthen alone can the final outcome fully reflect the developmentdimension of this round," Gopal Pillai, the top civil servantin India's commerce ministry, told delegates.
Pillai is heading the Indian delegation after CommerceMinister Kamal Nath returned to New Delhi for Tuesday'sconfidence vote over civilian nuclear cooperation with theUnited States that could trigger a snap election.
Many delegates in Geneva say defeat for the Congress-ledgovernment could spell an early end to the trade talks, givenIndia's pivotal role in the negotiations.
Nath is due back in Geneva on Wednesday.
The United States and the European Union -- both of whichhave strong farm and industrial lobbies -- have called onemerging countries like Brazil, India and China to offer more.
"I have to say that after (Monday's) meeting I am lessoptimistic than before," Egyptian Trade Minister Rachid MohamedRachid told Reuters after no tangible progress was made.
Failure at Geneva would not only be a blow for tradeliberalisation but some analysts say it would also put greaterdoubt over multilateral talks such as the attempt to find asuccessor to the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change.
"FALSE APPEARANCE OF PROGRESS"
Negotiators are walking a line between trying to move thetalks to a conclusion and ensuring they do not alienatepowerful lobbies at home. A group of U.S. senators sent aletter to U.S. trade chief Susan Schwab warning her not to givetoo much.
"At a time when our economy is slowing, there couldn't be aworst time to entertain foreign countries' attacks on ourdomestic trade laws," said Republican Senator Olympia Snowe,one of the signatories of the letter.
"We are making it clear that the false appearance ofprogress and momentum is not an acceptable trade-off forweakening our trade laws and damaging our economy," Snowe said,noting Congress would oppose such a deal.
Latest WTO proposals would require the United States to cuttrade-distorting farm subsidies to a range of $13 billion to$16.4 billion a year (6.4 billion to 8 billion pounds) from acurrent ceiling of $48.2 billion.
The range is above current U.S. spending on subsidies ofabout $7 billion although the handout figure is low becauseglobal foods prices are so high.
The EU is under pressure to cut its farm tariffs and limitthe number of "sensitive" products that would be shielded fromthe deepest tariff cuts.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Lynn)
(Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Matthew Jones)
