WASHINGTON INSIGHT

BREAKDOWN: Despite warnings of dire consequences from President Bush and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, U.S. and European trade negotiators appear resigned to the prospect of failure in the current round of trade talks. Some are working to devise a face-saving formula to dress up what they privately described as a serious breakdown in negotiations. . . . “The talks are basically dead,” one U.S. official said. There is disagreement over agricultural subsidies. This is another issue that’s likely to be hung up until after the U.S. elections.