Ard w' Nath

"Kamal Nath, India's minister of commerce and industry, has been called a lot of names in recent weeks, few of them good.

The latest round of talks between the Group of 4 - India, Brazil, the United States and the European Union - ground to a halt in late June after Nath and the Brazilian foreign minister, Celso Amorim, walked out. The U.S. trade representative, Susan Schwab, quickly called their actions "inflexible" and "low-ambition" and said they could harm other emerging nations.

India and Brazil are asking the United States to reduce the estimated $22 billion in subsidies that it allots to farmers, and the European Union to trim its €55 billion, or $75.8 billion, in such aid, saying they keep food prices on world markets artificially low, hurting farmers in developing nations. Developed nations would like to see substantial reductions in the taxes on imports to countries like India and Brazil, to give their manufacturers greater access to these fast-growing economies." (Thanks Yasmine)