BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) early Sunday adopted a framework agreement to cut export subsidies on farm products across the world, making a breakthrough for the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

    The DDA, also known as the Doha Round trade talks, was initiated in November 2001 at the fourth WTO ministerial conference in Doha, capital of Qatar. It includes negotiations on agriculture, services, non-agricultural goods, the environment, WTO rules, regional trade agreements and possible new frame agreements on investment, competition, government procurement and trade facilitation.

    The DDA, due to finish by January 1, 2005, aims to lower barriers to trade in farm and industrial goods and services. It pays special attention to development issues.

    However, during the fifth WTO ministerial meeting last September in Cancun, Mexico, WTO members failed to reach any agreements due to the huge gap in the positions between developed members and developing ones, placing the negotiations in a deadlock.

    In March 2004, WTO members resumed their talks on agriculture issues in Geneva. The representatives of WTO members agreed at the meeting to push forward the process of the Doha Round trade talks but failed to make any substantial progress.

    On July 16, the WTO unveiled a draft of the framework agreement on the Doha Round trade talks. After that, WTO members launched a two-week negotiations and finally adopted on Sunday a framework agreement, which would be the basis for further negotiations in details to conclude the Doha Round trade talks by the end of this year.

    Agricultural subsidies are the key issue of all the negotiations. Developing members call for an immediate end to farm subsidies by rich nations so that they can compete in a fairer global market, while developed ones, mainly the European Union, the United States and Japan, are reluctant to scale back their hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies each year.

    Under Sunday's agreement, developed nations promised to reduce agricultural subsidies in a short term, in return for the opening-up of markets by developing members to manufactured goods. They also agreed to finalize a date to end all farm subsidies and cut back tariffs on agricultural and industrial products. Enditem