WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Marathon WTO talks collapse in US-India farm row
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-30 11:00

"An Obama administration might just say we have to start over with a clean slate," said Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at Washington's Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Even as ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the WTO and open trade, there were fears that Tuesday's setback could fuel protectionist sentiments.

"I think it's a strong negative and it really follows on the heels of a retreat from globalization and trade that were really the building blocks for the prosperity of the last several decades. It's scary," said Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The WTO's role as umpire of the world trading system is now likely to come more into focus as its 153 members resort to trade disputes rather than trade liberalization negotiations.

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