WASHINGTON (AFP) – The U.S. government issued a cutting riposte Friday after EU trade chief Peter Mandelson urged Washington to show more "realism" in crunch WTO talks.

"The (European) Commission is quite adept at speeches, press conferences and finger-pointing," said Christin Baker, spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman.

"We just wish they would put that same kind of energy into the needed negotiations to make Doha a success," she said, referring to the World Trade Organization's beleaguered negotiating round.

The major WTO players appear to have launched a blame game after Mandelson said the global club would not reach an agreement on a negotiating framework for liberalizing global commerce before an April 30 deadline.

"It has now become increasingly clear that the agreement cannot be prepared for the end of April," Mandelson said in Helsinki Friday, after using a speech to blame the United States for a lack of "realism" in the WTO talks.

He specifically lamented that Washington had not done more to cut its farm support, angering the U.S. trade office, which noted a series of concessions by Washington in contrast with strong EU reluctance to open up farm trade.

"The United States has been transparent -- our goal is to ensure that the Doha development round meets the standard of 'substantial improvement in market access' as agreed by all WTO countries (in July 2004)," Baker said.

"What the EU has offered simply doesn't meet the standard," she said.