By Robin Pomeroy
GENEVA (Reuters) - Talks to rescue a world trade dealstruggled into a ninth day on Tuesday after being brought backfrom the brink of collapse over measures intended to help poorcountries protect their farmers against import surges.
Ministers said they would try to find ways out of theimpasse, but warned failure was a real possibility.
"If people don't want this deal, there's no better dealcoming along and we just have to consider, if this fails, whatthey will lose," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson toldreporters on his way into the negotiations.
Trade officials said the talks aimed at salvaging theseven-year-old Doha trade round were nearly scrapped on Mondayas the United States clashed with China and India over accessto their rapidly growing markets, especially in food products.
Negotiators dug in their heels on the details of a "specialsafeguard mechanism" which would allow poor nations to protecttheir farmers against any import surges in agriculturalproducts such as rice.
The proposal also pits developing farm exporters likeParaguay and Uruguay against other poor nations who are worriedabout their farmers' survival, especially in Asia.
Indonesia's Trade Minister, Marie Elka Pangestu, said theissue of protecting developing country farmers could sink theround. "If there are things in there that we feel are not partof a development round then we have to consider," she said.
Nine European Union states -- a third of the total andincluding EU heavyweight France -- demanded better terms forthe bloc, adding to concerns that a painstakingly assembledpackage of compromises that rescued the negotiations last weekcould disintegrate.
France has warned that a final deal based on the currentproposals might be rejected next year by European capitals.
French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said India wasseeking to protect its agriculture while the United Stateswanted new markets for its crops, notably cotton.
"And we in France and Europe say: 'Stop, we can't just openthe floodgates and leave the next 14 years to the Chinese toprepare themselves as if they were an emerging country,'"Lagarde told France Info radio.
Top trade officials from around 30 key WTO members havebeen in Geneva since last Monday to try to agree on a range ofterms for cutting farm subsidies and tariffs on agriculturaland manufactured goods, the core of the WTO's Doha round.
The negotiations for a global deal trade to lower exportbarriers were launched in 2001, shortly after the September 11attacks on the United States, in the hope of boosting the worldeconomy and helping poor countries.
(Additional reporting by Doug Palmer and by James Mackenziein Paris; writing by William Schomberg; editing by RichardBalmforth)