GENEVA — With time running out for the World Trade Organization to wrap up its current round of trade liberalization talks successfully, there is still little sign that the major players are giving the necessary ground to get things moving.

The process has been at an impasse for months. The European Union and other rich countries are demanding greater concessions on industrial goods and services from developing countries like Brazil before they cede ground on access to their own farm markets. But Brazil, India and others insist that Europe must make the first move.

Observers say there's not enough time before a year-end deadline to achieve the original ambition of slashing tariffs and subsidies, opening global markets to international trade flows and helping the world's poorest people — even though WTO ministers have agreed on a series of bilateral talks that should enable them to make progress.

At a December meeting, WTO members set a schedule to reach their target by the end of 2006. The first major deadline is the end of April for a formula for cutting tariffs and subsidies.

Members also insist that despite repeated delays, the ambition of the round shouldn't be reduced. Ministers are now holding a flurry of bilateral meetings to try to get talks back on track.

But this doesn't necessarily reflect the real state of the talks, which are now so far behind schedule that WTO ministers are racing against time even to come up with a limited agreement, observers say.