U.S. trade negotiators reported Thursday that the European Union has not offered a serious proposal to lower tariffs for farm products, threatening progress at a World Trade Organization meeting scheduled for December in Hong Kong.

"Unfortunately, I'm not able to report much progress," U.S. Trade Ambassador Rob Portman said in a telephone press conference from Geneva, Switzerland.

"Our good faith proposal in agriculture has not been answered," Portman said, referring to a U.S. offer made on October 10 to cut America's trade distorting crop subsidies by 60% over five years. The U.S. has asked developed nations, including those of the European Union to cut tariffs on food imports by between 55% and 90%.

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Both Portman and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns reported that other nations have been willing to discuss making changes in their own domestic farm programs and to consider cuts to export subsidies. But the EU so far is the main obstacle to moving talks ahead on market access, Johanns said. In the area of market access, "the European Union has not stepped up with anything," he said.

Last week, the EU response to the U.S. offer to cut farm subsidies was to lower tariffs by an average of 24.5%, Portman said then. That's not considered a credible offer by the U.S. or other nations seeking greater market access for their farm products.

Portman and Johanns said that, because the issue of tariff cuts is complex, any serious proposal from the E.U. needs to be made by the end of October in order for negotiators to have time to study it before the Hong Kong meeting. Portman is returning to the U.S. tomorrow, but he said he would be willing to return to Europe next week to continue talks on market access.