The two trading giants said some elements were unacceptable, after a first meeting of the WTO's 150 members here to discuss the detailed technical proposals made a week ago by the chief negotiator guiding the crucial farm talks.

The negotiations are part of the multilateral Doha round, launched in the Qatari capital in November 2001 with aim of tearing down barriers to global commerce.

Echoing comments by other trading nations US agriculture negotiator Joseph Glauber told journalists the "draft modalities" marked an overall improvement.

However, he also highlighted significant shortcomings -- in the US case largely on the extent of proposed cuts in import duties on farm produce.

"A lot of work has been done in the export competition and domestic support, in contrast with market access... a significant portion on market access is just lacking," Glauber told journalists.

Washington is trying to balance any concessions it makes in reducing the amount of support paid out to US farmers with cheaper access to agricultural export markets in other nations.

The proposals on agriculture effectively suggested that Washington should rein in overall trade-distorting support or subsidies for US farmers to between 12.8 billion and 16.2 billion dollars a year.

Some types of domestic subsidies do not affect international trade, according to the WTO.

Glauber said that Washington was ready to make an effort on domestic support, but he said a figure in the low teens was "out of the question."

The head of the farm trade negotiations, New Zealand ambassador Crawford Falconer, said: "Their comments were largely predictable."

The draft proposals on two of the three pillars in the talks, agricultural and industrial trade, are aimed at reviving the stuttering six year-old trade liberalisation effort.

Agriculture is key obstacle in the deadlocked Doha Development Round, with cross cutting disagreements between rich and poor countries in the WTO over cuts in subsidies paid to farmers in wealthy nations and reductions in import tariffs.

The WTO's 150 members are due to turn their attention to the other proposals on Non Agricultural Market Access or industrial goods, in another meeting in Geneva on Wednesday.

Rich countries have been pressing for easier access for their industrial goods to markets in the developing world.

Another report from Beijing adds: China on Wednesday gave a lukewarm response to new proposals on agriculture and industry tariffs aimed at restarting stalled global trade talks.

The World Trade Organisation's chief agriculture negotiator last week proposed in Geneva that trade distorting farm export subsidies be cut to below 16.2 billion dollars a year, compared with 19 billion dollars now.

The recommendations are aimed at unravelling nearly six years of deadlock in the Doha Development Round of trade liberalisation talks, launched in the Qatari capital in 2001, and at brokering a compromise among the 150 WTO members.

China's Commerce Ministry said Wednesday the proposals were a first step.

China as a global commercial power has remained suprisingly reticent in the WTO, drawing criticism as it has allowed Brazil and India to spearhead the interests of developing nations around the world.