Meanwhile in Paris, the French government rejected the current proposals for a deal, saying they showed no advance on essential points concerning industry.

"The blame game has started. The US began by pointing its finger at India and China, and then China retorted sharply," a diplomat in Monday morning's meeting of the World Trade Organization's 153 member states told AFP.

The United States accused India and China of threatening to shatter a fragile deal reached by key parties in Geneva over the past week, according to a statement obtained by AFP.

"All their invocations of development during the past years ring hollow when these major players threaten the development benefits already on the table that are absolutely vital to the vast majority of the membership," the US deputy head at the Geneva mission to the WTO, David Shark, said in the statement.

"Their actions have thrown the... Doha development Round into the gravest jeopardy of its nearly seven-year life."

India's Commerce Minister Kamal Nath bluntly rebutted the charge.

"We are not holding up the talks," he told AFP on the sidelines of Monday morning's meeting.

"Who's holding up this round I think are the large developed countries... who are looking for commercial interests and enhancing prosperity rather than looking for content which reduces poverty."

Nath cited domestic subsidies as one of the main areas of dispute and insisted that about 100 countries backed India's position on proposals for special import tariff measures known as SSM.

"The United States wants twice the amount of subsidies than what it's actually given," he said. "They say ... we want the right to double our subsidies and we won't triple them, so... what price are you willing to pay?"

The US charge that big emerging countries were holding up the talks "is not borne out by facts," he said, since "there are several countries who made the statement," on the SSM, or special safeguard mechanism.

The SSM is a system that would allow certain countries such as India to raise their import tariffs to protect their poor farmers if imports surge over a certain level.

Chinese Ambassador Sun Zhenyu, meanwhile, retorted during the morning session that China has "tried very hard" to contribute to a successful round.

"It is a little bit surprised that at this time the US started this finger pointing. I am surprised because they are now talking about cotton, sugar, rice of China as seems that we are not going to make any more efforts there."

He pointed out that while the US had offered to cut the ceiling of its agricultural subsidies to 14.5 billion dollars, the actual annual spending was only 7-8 billion a year.

This means that the US could continue to keep current subsidies, with room to even increase that volume.

"Where is the new market access to the developed countries?" asked Sun.

He concluded his statement saying that negotiations would not progress if the US did not pull its weight.

"If they cover all their sensitivities for themselves, and keeping on putting threats on developing countries, I think we are going nowhere," said Sun.

Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said that countries had been very patient and that "we can understand a degree of frustration".

"It's normal in any negotiations so we've got to overcome the frustrations and not lose sight of the objectives," he told AFP, adding that the state members were "so close" to a deal that "we need to try and conclude it."

In Paris, the French government warned on Monday that "the project currently on the table is not acceptable as it stands".

The proposals showed "no advance on elements which are altogether essential in our eyes" and notably on "the protection of indications of geographical origin" and "the defence of our European industrial interests in the face of emerging countries".

Talks since last Monday among ministers from about 35 key trading economies appeared to make a breakthough on Friday, but optimism about a deal dimmed over the weekend as emerging economies held out for better terms.

Leaving talks late on Sunday, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab told reporters that there was a path "for a successful outcome on Friday night", and that while it was not perfect, it was delicately balanced, with a strong endorsement.

"Unfortunately a few emerging markets have decided that somehow they want to re-balance it in favour of one or another issue," she said.

"That was a very delicate balance that was struck. You pull one thread, it threatens to unravel."

hmn-rlp/hd

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