WASHINGTON The United States and the European Union reaffirmed their joint determination to launch a new round of world trade talks by the end of this year, despite continuing differences over agricultural subsidies and other issues.

At a joint news conference here Tuesday, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and his EU counterpart Pascal Lamy of France expressed their firm desire to avoid a repeat of the failure in Seattle in 1999 at World Trade Organization talks scheduled for November in Doha.

"Continued trade liberalization is essential to promoting global economic growth and alleviating poverty," Zoellick said.

The two economic superpowers share many views on issues such as access to markets for non-agricultural products, transparency in government purchasing and strengthening the WTO, AFP quoted Zoellick as saying.

"We have achieved a good convergence on positions even if we are not there yet," Lamy said.

"Tactically, neither of us is playing games. We are behind this and now we are addressing substance ... to see what kind of agenda and trading system we want," Lamy said, but he pointed out that "agriculture is still a contentious issue."

Agricultural subsidies remain a sticking point as they were in Seattle, with the United States insisting on the elimination of agricultural export subsidies and Europeans saying they are needed to preserve EU farming.

But those subsidies also pose a problem for U.S. President George W. Bush as he seeks broad authority from the U.S. Congress to negotiate trade agreements.

Insisting that the United States must speak with one voice on trade issues to maintain its credibility, Bush has lobbied for quick passage of so-called trade promotion authority -- formerly known as "fast track" authority -- which would enable him to negotiate free-trade agreements and submit them to congress for a yes-or-no vote without amendment.

The proposal now appears doomed, with Democrats in the House of Representatives closing ranks in insisting that labor and environmental standards be included in trade talks and other lawmakers pushing to ensure that Bush will not agree to give up agricultural subsidies or anti-dumping laws without getting something in return.