The United States will continue playing a lead role in negotiations to free up global trade whoever wins today's presidential vote, the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said yesterday.

Asked whether victory for Democratic Party challenger Senator John Kerry could lead to a more protectionist US stance on trade, WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi said he would not be drawn into a debate on policies.

But support from both the United States and the European Union, the world's two economic superpowers, for the trade negotiations was vital if WTO member states were to build on the success of the summer, when a partial deal was struck, he said.

"The United States has always been committed to (taking) a leadership role. I expect to see a continuation of this," he told reporters.

"I do not think there will be any kind of issues that will derail this round in the near future. We have the right momentum and the right spirit," Mr Supachai added.

The July blueprint, which covers key areas of the talks including farm trade, was an important breakthrough which member states must flesh out with technical details in the coming months, the WTO chief said.

But it was too early to talk of a fresh deadline for the Doha Round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in late 2001, or for fixing specific targets for the next ministerial meeting to be held in Hong Kong in December 2005.