The collapse of the world trade talks in Geneva
was last night greeted with relief by farmers, but disappointment by
businesses.

Trade and agricultural ministers spent nine exhausting days trying to reach
an agreement on market access.

Developing countries had pressed for lower import-tariffs on farm produce,
while the industrial world demanded greater access to emerging markets for
manufactured goods and services.

The talks eventually collapsed when the US,
India and China
finally failed to agree on farm-import rules.

The end of the talks was met with a mixed reaction here. Pat Ivory, head of
trade at IBEC,
the group that represents Irish business, said the failure of negotiators to
reach a balanced trade deal was a significant blow to the global economy.

“The ability to trade on world markets is crucial to the success of
the Irish economy and a good WTO
deal would have created significant new opportunities for Irish exporters.
As a small open economy, Irish business needs the certainty that
international trade agreements provide into the future,” he said.

However, the main agriculture organisations, the Irish
Farmers Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk suppliers
Association (ICMSA), revelled in the failure of the talks.

IFA president Padraig
Walshe said farmers would be relieved and thankful to French president Nicolas
Sarkozy “for the way he stood up for European farming”.

The president of the ICMSA, Jackie
Cahill, described the collapse as a “step-back from the edge of a
cliff”.

Resurrection

Mr Cahill said: “The Doha Round
should now be buried and there should be no talk of another resurrection.

“Irish and European farmers must realise how close we have come to
commercial oblivion and we must take steps that prevent us ever again
skirting such disaster.”

The disagreement now relieves the Government of significant pressure from
the farming lobby, which had earlier yesterday protested again outside
Government Buildings.

Fine Gael agriculture
spokesman Michael Creed
said questions remained on Fianna
Fail‘s “inept handling of the negotiations”.

He said the Government’s commitment to a veto had receded and they had been “left
in the ha’penny place, when compared to the performance of the French
president”.

Fianna Fail MEP Sean
O Neachtain said: “If this deal had been approved, it would have
been bad news for Irish beef farmers.”

But Oxfam
spokesman Jeremy Hobbs
said the collapse was a major disappointment. A decent trade deal could have
given the world’s poorest people a chance to escape worsening poverty, he
said.

The end of the negotiations is a personal blow to EU
trade commissioner Peter
Mandelson. The WTO has been trying since 2001 to secure a deal on the
rules governing trade.

- Maeve Dineen and Senan Molony