The head of the World Bank says the U.S. government should stop making excuses and start leading in efforts to make a deal in the Doha free trade talks.

Robert Zoellick said at a World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva Monday the agreement would boost trade and that is the best way to bolster badly needed economic growth around the world.

The Doha talks started in 2001, and advocates hoped they would cut tariffs and other trade barriers and help lift millions of people out of poverty around the world.

But the talks stalled as emerging nations demanded cuts in agricultural subsidies in rich nations, and developed nations pushed for greater access to markets in developing nations.

After years of talks produced little progress, some nations began pushing for a smaller deal intended to at least help the poorest countries. But Zoellick says it is going to be just as hard to get the mini-deal as the larger and more ambitious global package.

The World Bank president, who was once the U.S. Trade Representative, says the United States should lead by making deep cuts in its agricultural subsidies and win trade concessions from developing nations.

Zoellick says the bold action could come at a low political cost for Washington because the budget crisis has already prompted the U.S. Congress to make a deal on some cuts in agricultural subsidies.