The collapse of talks among six key players from the 149-nation World Trade Organisation drove its chief Pascal Lamy to recommend an indefinite freeze in the faltering negotiations.
Mr Lamy later told journalists it was necessary to clear the air and ensure that there was "no ambiguity" about the lack of political will for a deal among key members of the WTO, which sets the rules of global commerce.
"The end of a time-out can only come when members are ready to play ball," he said.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said that trading nations could face a long wait before negotiations can resume, because of unresolved differences on farm trade which have dogged the talks.
"I don't believe that it will be a matter of weeks. It will certainly be a matter of months, and not maybe very few months," he said.
Indian trade minister Kamal Nath had earlier commented: "The round is not dead. But it's definitely between intensive care and the crematorium."
Series of setbacks
The failure by Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States to settle their disagreements on trade concessions was the latest in a series of setbacks to attempts to conclude WTO's Doha Round talks.
The Doha Round, which started in the Qatari capital in 2001, was billed as a move to complete the unfinished business of previous decades of reforms to make trade fairer, particularly in agricultural goods.
Launched just two months after the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, it was seen as a way to rebuild confidence in a world shaken by terrorism.
The round was also hyped as a once in a generation chance to reduce stark divisions between rich and poor nations.
Experts have regularly warned that WTO members may shift their focus back to bilateral trade deals and regional trade accords, which can create a complex web of conflicting interests.
The multilateral WTO talks were seen by many as giving developing countries their best shot of a decent deal, because most poor nations tend to be at a disadvantage in bilateral trade negotiations with rich, powerful players.
"We've missed a very important opportunity to prove that multilateralism works, and that by working together - which is not easy to do - the nations of this world can solve some of the serious problems we face," said Mr Lamy.
The Brazilian and Indian led G20 grouping of developing countries has increasingly flexed its muscle against the rich during the Doha Round negotiations.
The EU and the US had previously agreed that they wanted more concessions from the developing world on trade in services and manufactured goods in return for freeing up farm trade.
US criticised
The latest failed talks, however, pitted the United States against the EU and powerful emerging nations.
Washington found itself under pressure to offer deeper cuts in its contested farm subsidies but countered that its partners should themselves open markets by slashing customs duties on imported agricultural goods.
"The United States remains committed to a robust, ambitious and balanced round. Unfortunately our trading partners were more interested in the loopholes than in market access," said US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson hit back, accusing Washington of failing to match moves by other WTO nations.
"The United States was unwilling or unable to show any flexibility on the issue of farm subsidies," Mr Mandelson said.
Critics say that Washington's subsidies skew trade in favour of US agribusiness.
But deeper cuts would have been difficult for Washington to sell domestically ahead of crucial mid-term elections in November, unless US negotiators could show they had obtained more from their counterparts.
Mr Nath blamed the uncompromising US stance. "It's very clear that the EU made a movement (on customs duties). Everyone put something on the table except for one country, who said: 'We can't see anything on the table'," said Mr Nath.
Negotiators had hoped to hammer out a deal before it became even tougher to reach an agreement.
Next year the White House will lose its fast track authority for trade deals, allowing lawmakers to recover their right to pick apart international trade treaties, potentially creating new obstacles for any future talks at the WTO.