France has called for a pause in global trade talks as it believes a deal in the 5-year-old Doha round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is unlikely in a close future.
"We should face up to reality and note that the divergence between the positions of members is too wide to be filled in the near future," the French farm ministry said in a statement released over the weekend.
"For the sake of the multilateral system a pause in negotiations would probably be preferable rather than pointless perseverance," it added. France's position contrasts with Britain which said last week it would be "absolutely outrageous" for world powers to miss out on a global trade deal this year as the different positions are so close.
The World Trade Organisation launched its Doha round in 2001 to cut barriers to trade around the world. Trading powers have been locked in behind-the-scenes efforts in recent weeks to galvanise the negotiations, which were relaunched in January after a six-month suspension. Agriculture remains the main sticking point.
The United States is still reluctant to make big cuts to domestic farm subsidies unless India and other developing nations guarantee more access for American agricultural exports.
France said a report released last week by Crawford Falconer, head of agriculture negotiations at the WTO, presented a biased version of the subjects under negotiation.
"An agreement concluded on this basis would be deeply unbalanced and could not be considered as acceptable," the farm ministry said.
French Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau was due to lay out the French position "very firmly" at a meeting of European farm ministers in Brussels on Monday