G8 leaders drop commitment for Doha deal in 2010

HUNTSVILLE, Ontario (Reuters) - The Group of Eight major industrial nations dropped a commitment on Saturday to complete the troubled Doha trade round this year and promised to pursue bilateral and regional trade talks until a global deal could be done.

World Trade Organization members launched the Doha round in 2001 but talks have stalled amid arguments over how much rich countries should cut farm subsidies and tariffs in exchange for developing nations opening up their markets.

A communique issued at the end of a G8 summit said merely that members renewed their pledge to finish the round. Last year, a G8 summit in Italy and a Pittsburgh meeting of the Group of 20 both committed to a 2010 end date.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who chaired the G8 summit, used words like "at some point" and "eventually" to describe when the deal could be done.

"I would never go so far as to say Doha is dead. I don't think it's true and I don't think we can afford to say that. We've got to find a path over time to get to a successful conclusion," he told a closing news conference.

"Those of us who favor liberalized trade are not going to stand still. ... Canada and many other governments are committed to more aggressively pursuing bilateral and regional trade deals as a way of kick-starting the process while we see the Doha talks remaining stalled," he said.

Trade ministers have long said a multilateral trade deal at the WTO is more beneficial for the global economy than more limited bilateral and regional agreements.

Canada, which is holding talks with the European Union about a possible free trade agreement, has in recent years signed such deals with Israel and Chile. Along with the United States and Mexico, it is part of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in 1994.

The United States last week blamed China and other big emerging economies for the deadlock. Harper said the G8 agreed that "to have a successful round in the Doha round, eventually we all must raise our level of ambition."

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Peter Cooney)