One day into the ministerial meeting, the European Union remained at odds with the United States, Canada and Japan over the scope and implementation of an initiative to provide duty-free quota-free access to least developed countries (LDCs).
'Say no to WTO' was the consensus reached by Asian grassroots activists who gathered this morning at Victoria Park in Hong Kong to share their experiences of unfair trade policies imposed by rich nations
The United States and the European Union sparred on Wednesday over farm subsidies, food aid and measures to help the world's poorest countries, souring world trade talks that were already in trouble.
Trade ministers began the difficult task of getting consensus on a new pact to boost global commerce as emerging giant China called on the developed world to give the poorest nations a fair break.
World trade ministers launched a fresh bid to salvage free trade negotiations amid little hope for major headway, as thousands of protesters marched in the streets to denounce the WTO as an enemy of the poor.
The United States warned trading partners on Wednesday that the world would slip back into protectionism without progress in global talks to reform world commerce, stunting economic growth and hitting the poor.
Thousands of anti-globalization activists marched through Hong Kong watched by a huge security operation aimed at preventing a repeat of violence that has rocked previous WTO meetings.
The United States will have to open its market to more foreign temporary workers as part of any new world trade deal, despite strong opposition in the US Congress, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Wednesday.
