LONDON, Dec 3: Britain sought to break a deadlock over world trade liberalisation at talks among finance ministers on Saturday, but prospects for anything more than a declaration of good intent looked slim.

In a move that troubled the French in particular, Britain’s Gordon Brown, chairing the London meeting, called for an end to subsidies for farmers in rich countries — aid and tariffs that are worth about $280 billion a year according to the OECD.

That is one of the stumbling blocks in negotiations which come to a head when trade ministers from the 148 countries of the World Trade Organisation meet in Hong Kong on Dec. 13-18.

Agriculture is not the only dossier, French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said, restating Paris’s line that the trade talks also covered services, industry, and intellectual property.

Brown, chairing the meeting of ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrial powers plus envoys from countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia, kept up the pressure, although the forum he chose is not one where people go into detail on the complexities of trade negotiation.

We have shown that the world wants to see the trade talks in Hong Kong come to a successful conclusion, he said.

Brazilian finance minister Antonio Palocci said his country was ready to give ground on industrial tariffs as long as the United States and European Union did the same on agriculture, and Brown said India was willing to compromise too.

Proposals for changes to farm support were “insufficient”, Palocci said. In one of many trade disputes, Brazil is demanding compensation from the United States for subsidising cotton exports, which depresses prices and squeezes Brazilian farmers.

The ministers and central bankers also discussed the outlook for the world economy and the high cost of oil at Friday’s meeting.

Everyone stated the global situation was encouraging in 2005 and 2006 despite oil prices which have weighed on growth in 2005, Breton told reporters.

Exchange rates were not discussed in Friday’s session of the G7 — the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and host country Britain — but a Japanese official said there was no significant change to be expected in any case in the language the G7 uses in its communique on currencies.

Turning to the affairs of the less well-off, ministers met Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayyad, who said the Palestinian Authority needs $200 million just to meet basic needs from now to February.

Brown’s main aim on Saturday was apparently to secure some kind of political statement of support for a deal in Hong Kong on the so-called Doha Round of further trade liberalisation in the world.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office went as far as floating the idea on Friday of calling an emergency meeting of world leaders if needed ahead of the Hong Kong deadline and a White House official said Washington would consider such an idea if it was asked to.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow said the United States signalled that it is ready to do a deal as long as others are.—Reuters