WASHINGTON, July 26: US and Australian trade negotiators said on Friday they made good progress this week in bilateral talks, but may not finish their work by the end of the year, as President George W. Bush had hoped.

Lead US negotiator Ralph Ives said the countries exchanged initial market opening offers for goods and services during the third round of talks in Honolulu. The two sides will exchange requests in late August or early September on how they would like those offers improved, he said.

US beef, dairy, sugar and other farm groups are nervously following the negotiations. Australia is a major agricultural exporter and many US farmers fear they have more to lose than gain from a pact that tears down bilateral barriers to trade.

Steve Deady, chief negotiator for Australia, said Canberra wanted a “big package on market access” but would consider transition periods for sensitive US commodities.

Bush has set a goal for negotiators to finish by the end of the year. In a video conference call from Honolulu, Ives and Deady said both countries were striving to meet that goal but offered no guarantees that they would.

The United States is more interested in negotiating a “world class agreement,” than meeting an artificial deadline, Ives said. Deady said that is also Australia’s view.

In a separate news briefing, Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said negotiations were on track to finish by year end. However, he acknowledged there was substantial work to be done and said Washington’s initial market access offer was much less ambitious than the proposals Australia had put on the table.

Vaile spoke with reporters after a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to discuss the bilateral negotiations. The two also discussed World Trade Organization talks, which are stalled over sharp differences on agriculture. Both officials will attend a meeting of trade ministers next week in Montreal to see if the talks can be moved forward.

The United States and Australia will hold their next round of talks in Canberra in October and a fifth round in early December in Washington. The two sides will continue work between rounds through video conferences and other contacts.—Reuters