GENEVA, July 29 (Reuters) - World Trade Organisation states appeared toedge closer on Thursday to putting stalled global trade negotiations backon track after five core members agreed points in the hotly disputed texton agricultural reform.After hours of hard bargaining, the United States, the European Union,India, Brazil and Australia, representing a host of trading interests,together proposed changes to a heavily criticised first draft for a dealfloated by chief mediators."I welcome this agreement on agriculture amongst five key members. Thisis an important input ... and gives momentum to our efforts," WTODirector-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said.But he warned that an accord amongst the five, even if they speak for awide range of trade interests, could not guarantee the backing of theWTO's full 147-state membership.As if to underline his words, arguments continued to rage overindustrial tariffs just as differences were narrowing in agriculture,diplomats and trade officials said.Richer nations are pressing developing countries to open their marketsmore to industrial goods as the price of farm reform."We are seeing progress in most areas (of the WTO negotiations), but itis hard to report any progress on NAMA (non-farm goods)," said one WTOofficial.

DEADLINE MIDNIGHTThe WTO has set itself until midnight on Friday to seal an outlinedeal, or "framework", in four key areas -- farm and industrial goods,services and a new customs' code -- in a bid to revive its troubled DohaRound of free trade negotiations.Agriculture is widely seen as crucial to an overall pact and the accordamongst the "Big Five" included an EU offer to eliminate farm exportsubsidies that has provoked the wrath of France, which says the bloc hasnot been adequately compensated for its concession.A deal would let the WTO say the Round is back on track, but tradeofficials say failure may postpone for years trade liberalisation and itspromise to boost the world economy.The result of the talks between the five will set the tone for arevised draft that the mediators, Supachai and the organisation'sexecutive General Council chairman Shotaro Oshima of Japan, will put tothe full body."If we, the five, do not have agreement on the issues, it is hard tosee how an agreement amongst the others can be found," EU trade chiefPascal Lamy's spokeswoman, Arancha Gonzalez, told journalists.However, a number of other members, including Switzerland and Japan,are suspicious at the leading role assumed by the five and have warnedthat they will not be railroaded into anything just because the bigtrading powers back it.

UNITED STATES, EU GUARDEDOfficially, both the United States and the European Union were guardedin their comments as the "Big Five" are anxious not to be seen asdictating any final WTO decision."The meeting has been useful and good," said Rich Mills, spokesman forU.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, who took part in the talksalong with his EU counterpart Lamy.Diplomats said that they did not expect Supachai and Oshima to producetheir draft until late Thursday or even Friday morning, leaving littletime for a deal to be struck.Negotiators are struggling for accord on a framework for the next stageof the Doha Round, launched in the Qatar capital in 2001 but effectivelyderailed since the collapse of a WTO meeting of trade ministers in Cancun,Mexico last September.The central problem is farm trade reform, and the future of rich powersubsidies.In answer to developing country concerns, the five suggested leavingopen how many "sensitive" products rich states could protect from importsafter the first draft was attacked for being too generous to them.The United States agreed to negotiate more controls on subsidies, toprevent shifting farm aid between WTO categories -- a key developingcountry demand, one diplomat said.Washington would also agree to discuss further tightening use of farmexport credits, although whether the offer went far enough to satisfy theFrench was uncertain, diplomats said.