Clare Nullis, Associated Press Writer
GENEVA (AP) -- The World Trade Organization on Thursday formally launched negotiations to break down barriers to trade in farm products -- an exercise which likely will last years and be fraught with problems.
Symbolizing the bitter divisions over agriculture policy and the general crisis within the WTO following the collapse of the Seattle conference, the 135-nation body failed even to agree on who should head the talks permanently and instead just named an interim chairman.
"We still have no solution," Norwegian diplomat Kare Bryn said of the hunt for a chairman acceptable both to supporters and opponents of agricultural trade liberalization.
"We are all in agreement that this is an unfortunate situation," said Bryn, head of the WTO general council and thus responsible for finding a chairman for the agriculture committee.
Bryn said he had named New Zealand ambassador Roger Farrell to chair Thursday's meeting as it was vital that the agricultural talks should begin as scheduled.
The meeting was expected to be devoted to organizational matters like timetables and restatement of existing views, rather than any new proposals.
Agriculture has for years been the biggest single stumbling block to the quest to break down barriers to exports and open up global markets.
The United States and farm producers like Australia and Canada want to dismantle farm supports which, they maintain, distort trade. In particular, they want to the European Union to ax its massive subsidies.
The EU -- which is backed by Japan -- says it is prepared to make some subsidy cuts. But it insists that the agriculture negotiations should also address issues like animal welfare, food safety and protection for rural communities rather than just free market efficiency.
A small group of French and Swiss farmers demonstrated outside the WTO's lakeside headquarters to protest the negotiations and their perceived threat to small farmers.
The European Union and Japan have so far blocked the nomination of Celso Amorim, Brazil's highly respected ambassador to the WTO and a former foreign minister, on the grounds that Brazil is a member of the group of free traders.
The EU has proposed Nacer Benjelloun, Morocco's ambassador to the WTO but has so far won little additional support.
The general council agreed that Farrell should be interim head of the agriculture talks as he is currently the chairman of the more senior WTO committee on goods -- which also covers agriculture.:
