Trade-distorting subsidies may rise so much, Europeans fear, that America will break its Uruguay-round commitments.

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But the administration still has authority to complete talks it began under the so-called Uruguay Round of global trade talks.

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In particular, it must persuade poor countries, which felt short-changed by the previous Uruguay round, that a Doha deal will be good for them.

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But the tight and rigid timetable for Doha was designed to avoid a repetition of the Uruguay round, which overran by three years and still involved eleventh-hour horse-trading.

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In the Uruguay round, pushed by America, countries agreed to cut and set ceilings on their trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.

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In Uruguay , the left-wing opposition candidate, Tabare Vazquez, won nearly 40% in the first round of the presidential election.

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