The European Union (EU) will not give up on the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Doha Round trade talks which were suspended this week, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said here on Tuesday.

"Doha will remain a central priority of European trade policy. We will work to bring it back to life," Mandelson told a news conference at the EU headquarters.

Mandelson said he would "push hard" to restart world trade talks to keep alive offers to cut farm subsidies and open markets for the world's poorest nations.

"We must retain the offers that are already on the table and push hard to restart the negotiations as soon as the circumstances allow," Mandelson said.

He had scathing criticism for the United States, which he said was responsible for the failure of the five-year-long WTO negotiations and warned of negative consequences in global trade, particularly for poor nations.

"The United States has been asking too much from others in exchange for doing too little themselves," Mandelson said.

He said he would propose a "new agenda" for trade deals aimed at offering market opening, with China, and other rising trade powers, in October.

The commissioner also said the EU would push for measures to help developing countries regardless of the Doha Round's delay.

In the meantime, Mandelson said he hoped U.S. President George W. Bush would seek to extend his fast-track powers to approve trade deals in the wake of the suspension of global trade talks.

"I hope (Bush) will announce he will ... propose (an) extension of trade promotion authority in the United States as and when necessary for us to complete the round," Mandelson said.

The U.S. president's power to approve trade deals with only a minimal role by U.S. Congress expires in mid-2007. That has been seen as a final deadline for the WTO Doha Round.

Mandelson also said he hoped Bush would veto any moves to extend U.S. legislation on American farm subsidies. They were one of the sticking points that led to the suspension of the round.

Source: Xinhua