Brazil's Lula prods U.S., China to restart trade talks

Thu Aug 7, 2008 7:37am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that he had contacted the U.S. and Chinese presidents to discuss reviving the global trade talks, which collapsed last month.
Lula, who was in the Chinese capital for the opening of the Olympic Games, told a news conference in Beijing that he also intended to talk with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The so-called Doha round of negotiations to slash trade barriers and farm subsidies collapsed after the United States and India failed to agree on a proposal to help poor farmers deal with large-scale food imports.
"Almost everything was right for a conclusion when we had this impasse between the United States and India," Lula said. "If we don't get back to the talks and if we don't clinch a deal in the coming months it will take four or five years more and that would be a huge loss for everyone."
As a leading agricultural exporter Brazil has been a key player in the trade talks, representing the interests of developing nations.
(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Nick Macfie)