"My offer to the US is that they should reduce their subsidy by just one dollar and we have a deal," Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath said here yesterday at a conference on globalisation organised by industry chamber Ficci and the University of Oxford.
But the US had not been forthcoming, Nath said. "They (US) say forget about reducing the subsidy even by a single dollar, we want to have a right to double it in the next 10 years," he said.
He said the British leadership, both in the government and the academia, should try and influence the US administration to be reasonable and agree to the removal of "structural flaws" that have marked the World Trade Organisation for the last 13 years.
Nath arrived in the UK from the US, where he had several meetings, including with US Trade Representative Susan Schwab. While he said there was progress in the talks, the US has accused India of wrecking the negotiations by "working behind the scenes".
Nath did not agree that it was India alone that had differences with the US on farm subsidies, livelihood concerns and opening market for industrial products.
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"There is no question of India destroying any deal. There are 100 other countries which share most of our concerns," he said.
India and several other developing countries, including Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, have rejected the latest proposals put forward by chairs of the WTO negotiating groups on agriculture and industrial products.
While differences have been narrowed in agriculture, the crucial issue of livelihood concerns for poor farmers remains a sticking point.
Both India and the US are in election mode and will find it difficult to enter into any deal that does not go well with their voters.
WTO chief Pascal Lamy is keen on having a ministerial meeting, the highest policy-making organ, in July.
"That depends on the progress. Well, we have progress....we are better today than a month ago but there are many more milestones (to cross)," Nath said.
While Nath is having bilateral meetings in the US and the EU, negotiators are engaged in some intensive talks in Geneva.