WTO keeps talks moving to avert another breakdown

HONG KONG (Reuters) - 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.

U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, speaking on the second day of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Hong Kong, called in particular on the European Union to agree on a "global formula" for opening government-protected agricultural markets.

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A group of about 100 anti-globalisation protesters gathered peacefully in a downtown park near the convention centre on Wednesday, shouting slogans and waving signs that read "No to privatisation of services".

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