U.S.-Venuezela spat threatens to halt WTO trade disputes

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization was forced to postpone a regular dispute settlement meeting on Tuesday after the United States refused to recognise Venezuela, diplomats said, potentially putting a long-term obstacle in the WTO's trade dispute system.

"If one country puts an item on the agenda of every meeting and another country refuses to accept that the agenda can be discussed... then it may take a long time before a meeting can actually take place," one diplomat said.

The WTO's dispute settlement body oversees the process of trade disputes, formally adopting rulings and appeals.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Janet Lawrence)