The WTO's director general Pascal Lamy said in an interview published Friday in the French Le Monde newspaper that stalled trade liberalization talks need movement from Europe, the United States and emerging countries.

He noted the major points that needed to be addressed if the 149-member World Trade Organization (WTO) was to conclude the Doha round of talks before the end of the year, as scheduled.

"Europe must make progress on its agricultural tariffs, the United States on the reduction of its domestic subsidies to farmers, and the G20 (group of emerging nations) on the customs rights for industrial goods and services," he said.

"The European offer is certainly to be improved," he said, noting that France's stand opposing any further compromises on agriculture by the European Union was "excessively defensive".

The Doha Round of talks, aimed at increasing world trade to the benefit of developing nations, was expected to be finished by the end of the year, two years after the original deadline set at a conference in the Qatari capital in 2001.

Source: Xinhua