GLOBAL COMMERCE TALKS AT THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION COLLAPSED MONDAY AS TOP POWERS FAILED TO AGREE ON STEPS TOWARD LIBERALIZING TRADE IN FARM AND MANUFACTURED GOODS. INDIAN TRADE MINISTER KAMAL NATH SAID THE TALKS HAD BEEN SUSPENDED AND ADDED THAT «IT COULD TAKE ANYWHERE FROM MONTHS TO YEARS,» TO RESTART THE NEGOTIATIONS. «THIS IS A SERIOUS SETBACK, A MAJOR SETBACK,» SAID BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CELSO AMORIM. THE MEETING HAD BEEN CALLED BY WTO CHIEF PASCAL LAMY WITH MINISTERS FROM AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, THE 25-NATION EUROPEAN UNION, INDIA, JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES TO TRY TO RE-ENERGIZE THE TALKS, ACCORDING TO A REPORT OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
