THE HUNT for the assassins is on. With the corpse of the Cancun meeting of the World Trade Organization now moldering in its grave, those who hoped to push the round of trade-opening measures forward are accusing the usual suspects–and some unusual ones–of inflicting the death-dealing blows. The usual suspects, agricultural protectionists in developed countries, profess their innocence. The United States and the European Union say they would have offered to cut back the $300 billion in annual agricultural subsidies doled out to their already-rich farmers had they been given an opportunity to do so. They point the finger of guilt at a group of 22 developing countries, led by Brazil’s foreign minister, Celso Amorim, and at Mexico’s foreign minister, Luis Ernesto Derbez (who was also chairman of the meeting). The inexperienced chairman, say the developed countries, adjourned the meeting before any serious discussions of agricultural policies had begun. And the so-called Group of 22 (which includes India, China, Indonesia, and South Africa) stormed out of the meeting before the richer countries had an opportunity to make their final offer on agricultural subsidies.

The poorer nations respond with a heated “not guilty.” They say they have little to gain from still another agreement that opens their markets to the goods of the rich nations while those countries’ markets remain closed to their cotton, sugar, and other crops.