NUSA DUA (Indonesia) - PROSPECTS for wrapping up troubled world trade talks have improved, after signs of a new commitment from key players such as the United States, a group of major agricultural exporting nations said on Tuesday.

Trade ministers came close in July 2008 to a deal on the Doha round of talks, but the talks collapsed over a dispute between Washington and emerging economies spearheaded by India over proposals to help farmers in poor nations.

The Cairns Group - 19 nations accounting for more than 25 per cent of the world's agricultural exports - said in a communique at the end of a meeting in Bali that trade officials from the United States, Europe and India had shown fresh resolve to concluding the Doha talks launched in in 2001.

'These special guests have told us they share the commitment of the Cairns Group to reinvigorate the negotiations, with a view to bringing the Doha Round to conclusion in the shortest possible time,' the communique said, adding: 'This outcome is within our grasp, and we are determined to make it happen.'

Political conditions for a world trade deal have shown signs of improving, although protectionist sentiment is rising as well because of the global crisis, including dairy export subsidies brought in by Europe and the United States this year.

The Obama administration, which appointed US Trade Representative Ron Kirk in March, has conducted a review of US trade policy including efforts to reach a deal on the Doha round.

Mr Kirk, a former mayor of Dallas, confirmed that Washington had completed the review. 'We have laid out some very broad principles for how we think trade can and should be conducted in the US,' Mr Kirk told a news conference, adding that policies should target measurable and achievable results.

Brazil's trade ambassador to the WTO, Roberto Azevedo, told Reuters on Monday he believed Washington was ready to make concessions on its agricultural subsidies, which have proved a major sticking point in trade talks.

The Doha deal is estimated to be worth US$150 billion (S$218.9 billion) for the world economy and is considered even more important now that the world is facing its worst economic crisis in decades.

Mr Faizel Ismail, the head of South Africa's WTO delegation, said the Bali meeting had made progress and he hoped a road map to conclude Doha could be drawn up in Geneva within weeks. -- REUTERS