Marathon talks on a new world trade deal have collapsed after nine days of intense negotiations in Geneva.
'We were so close to getting this done,' US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters at World Trade Organisation headquarters after countries failed to compromise over measure to protect farmers in poor countries.
Winners and losers from the collapse
Experts say failure to find a broad agreement on what is known as the Doha trade round could delay any global agreement on trade liberalisation for several more years.
The negotiations for a global deal trade began in 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks on the US, in the hope of boosting the world economy and helping poor countries.
They have lurched from crisis to crisis and risk further years of delay without a breakthrough now because of the US presidential election in November and other factors.
The US had opposed a push from India, China and Indonesia to secure measures to protect their farmers if faced with sudden surges of cheap farm imports.
Earlier, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson urged parties to seek compromise. 'If people don't want this deal, there's no better deal coming along and we just have to consider, if this fails, what they will lose,' he said.
But, speaking on RTE radio this evening, the IFA president Padraig Walshe said Irish farmers would be very relieved at the breakdown.
