As trading nations from the 149-member WTO kicked off new efforts to revive the struggling Doha Round talks, the European Union (EU) demanded that Washington offer deeper cuts in subsidies paid to US farmers.

Ministers from around 60 key WTO players were due to gather for round-the-clock meetings over coming days, amid dire warnings about any failure to bridge differences.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy has warned that the organisation's members cannot afford to duck a deal this time, after missing a host of deadlines during their stumbling Doha Round negotiations.

Postponing a decision would be a "recipe for disaster," jeopardising efforts to reach a final accord by a cut-off date of December 2006, Lamy has warned.

Lamy has thrown down the gauntlet to the European Union, United States and developing-world powerhouses such as Brazil and India, urging them to make concessions in order to break the logjam after almost five years of negotiating.

The three camps have been sparring for years, trading blame for the sluggishness in the Doha Round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001 and was originally meant to end in 2004.

The aim of the round is to dismantle trade barriers and harness global commerce to boost development in poor countries, who make up the majority at the WTO.