World trade talks going on in Geneva broke down on Tuesday as each of the negotiating sides failed to reach a compromise. The intermittent negotiations between the industrialized countries and the developing economies have been going on for the last seven years. The final collapse of the talks has put an end to possibilities of freeing trade zones and cutting farm subsidies in the near future.

The World Trade talks were led by United States, representing the industrialized nations as well as India and China speaking for the newly emerging economies from the developing world. After nine continuous days of hectic bargaining, talks failed as both sides failed to reach a compromise on the issue of steps to safeguard farmers in the developing economies from the impact of greater trade liberalization.

The collapse of the World Trade negotiations has come as a severe disappointment to the pro-liberalization lobby which was hoping for an end to protectionism in the farming sector. It has also made a dent in the credibility of the WTO as an international body able to regulate the laws of global commerce. Finally the deadlock is an indication of the declining ability of the US to dictate terms and the growing clout of countries like India and China in the global economy.

-Kalyani Mookherji