(BRASILIA) - New proposals by the European Union and United States on farm subsidies and import tariffs are a step in the right direction but "still inadequate" for a trade deal to be reached, Brazil said Tuesday.

The country's foreign ministry issued a statement saying the new offers on the table in the Doha round of trade talks being held under the auspices of the World Trade Organization were too short on details.

They "fill in some gaps" but continue to fall short because they "remain vague on the central questions like subsidy ceilings and tariff barriers in the more advanced economies," it said.

The comments suggest the already protracted negotiations are likely to drag on for some time yet, with no clear breakthrough emerging on a new liberalization deal.

Brazil heads up the G20, a group of developing nations that is pitted against the European Union and the United States in the talks.

The G20 is holding out for better access to the markets in the developed world for its agricultural products, while Western nations want wider take-up of their services and industrial goods by the developing countries.

Europe in particular is pushing for a conclusion in the talks before presidential and general elections in the United States in November reshuffle the deck of US officials involved in the negotiations.

A deal was meant to have been reached in 2004, but the haggling has repeatedly pushed the deadline back.

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