Officials from the United States, EU and 28 other governments are making progress on a much-delayed plan to cut farm subsidies and tariffs, a top European Union official said Wednesday. Negotiators at the two-day World Trade Organization conference also are trying to agree on measures to lower barriers to trade in services and manufactured goods, along with protections for copyrights and other intellectual property _ all measures meant to spur global trade and economic growth. "We've been making progress in agriculture yesterday, then I link it up to progress being made in other areas as well," said Mariann Fischer Boel, the EU agriculture commissioner. The two-day trade meeting that began Tuesday in this northeastern Chinese port city is meant to give new momentum to WTO negotiations ahead of a key meeting in Hong Kong in December, The Associated Press reported.
