As negotiators from 34 countries in the Americas prepare for a meet-ing of deputy trade ministers to be held in Puebla, Mexico, this month, there seems to be little of substance for them to talk about. The objective is to agree the detail of a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which is due to come into effect at the beginning of 2005. But, like the Doha round of trade talks at the World Trade Organisation - which have stalled since last September's collapse of a ministerial summit in Gancun, Mexico - talks on the FTAA seem to have reached an impasse. In Cancun, talks broke down because delegates could not agree on the so-called Singapore issues. But the real issue was agriculture. A group of 22 developing nations, led by Brazil, India and South Africa, refused to discuss the Singapore issues because rich countries, in particular the US and EU states, refused to make concessions on subsidies and other forms of protection for their farmers.
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