The ministers attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum adopted the so-called "Swiss formula" to calculate future tariff reductions in the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) field.

The agreement was a set-back for developing countries who were pushing for a different method that was viewed as more tolerant of their higher protectionist tariff rates.

"This 2005 Jeju Apec meeting continues to follow the successful path of the recent meetings, by bringing to fruition a consensus on supporting (the) Swiss formula as the tariff reduction formula," said South Korea's trade minister Kim Hyun-Chong, who chaired the two-day talks that ended here on Friday.

"This achievement in NAMA will provide the much needed political impetus to the NAMA Doha negotiations."

Developing countries in general maintain higher tariff rates and this formula will result in those nations cutting tariffs by greater margins after the favored "Girard formula" was discarded.

Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile said the agreement was a significant step that would inject new momentum into the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.

"The Swiss formula, as its known, involves steeper cuts to higher tariffs in order to harmonize tariff rates across countries. This greatly reduces the gap between high and low tariff rates and in addition sets a top limit for all tariffs," he said in a statement.

US Trade Representative Rob Portman said the agreement would be "very helpful" in ensuring that the WTO Doha round bears fruit.

The WTO launched the Doha Round of trade talks in the Qatari capital in 2001, aiming to break down more tariffs and other barriers to commerce and to try to use trade to give developing countries a boost.

But discussions have stumbled repeatedly in the past four years.

"By adopting the Swiss formula, we have provided an important encouragement to the talks ... ," said Portman.

He said this held the potential for a "dramatic improvement" in global economics by pulling some 500 million people out of poverty around the world and bringing an additional $200 billion into the world economy.