The United States has asked India to make "tangible" offers and to lead developing nations back to the moribund Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks.

"India's leadership is required to be able to get a WTO agreement that will help the whole world and will help India as well," US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said ahead of a February 13-14 trip to New Delhi.

"I do want to impress upon all of the Indian government officials (that) without India's leadership, we can't do it," he told reporters.

Gutierrez urged India to enhance its offers in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors in a move that could be emulated by other developing economies to help achieve a breakthrough of the Doha Round.

"It has to be tangible progress and it has to be tangible movements in those areas, but the important thing is that developing nations are watching.

"They look to India to play a leadership role and they want to see India is moving before they move," Gutierrez said.

The Doha Round is deadlocked because of differences between the European Union and the United States on agriculture and because of discord between rich and poor countries about farming subsidies. In addition, industrialized nations are seeking greater access to developing nations for their industrial services and goods.

India and other developing countries particularly are demanding deeper reductions in tariffs on agricultural imports levied by rich nations, as well as bigger cuts in farm subsidies, which allegedly help farmers in the wealthy world to undercut their poor competitors.

The United States wants India and other key emerging nations such as Brazil to open markets for industrial goods and services, such as banking and telecommunications.

The fate of the negotiations faces a crunch deadline in the United States in June, when the "fast-track" negotiating powers of US President George W. Bush expire.

If the new Democratic leadership in Congress decides not to renew the special powers, then any deal struck risks being picked apart by US lawmakers.

Washington's chief trade negotiator Susan Schwab, the US Trade Representative, has stressed the importance of having the outlines of a deal before June.

Schwab met Friday with EU Commissioner Fischer Boel and EU Cabinet head Poul Skytte Christoffersen. Details of the talks were not available.

Gutierrez is scheduled to meet with senior Indian government officials, including Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, and address the American Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The meetings will include discussions on enforcing intellectual property rights, reducing red tape for US companies doing business in India, and the United States-India civilian nuclear deal signed by President George W. Bush in December, according to a statement from Gutierrez's office.

Under the atomic deal, which is still being finalized, the United States will transfer civilian nuclear fuel and technology to India for the first time since New Delhi tested a nuclear device in 1974.

It underscored a strategic partnership between the world's two largest democracies also aimed at boosting military ties and investments and trade.

The United States is India's largest trading partner, with a combined trade of 29 billion dollars in 2005.