France’s trade chief says he wants to ask the European Union to end talks with the US on forging a sweeping trade deal that his socialist government sees as too friendly to USA business.
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Matthias Fekl, the French minister for foreign trade, tweeted on Tuesday morning that the country is calling for negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to cease.
The minister has long complained the deal was heavily weighted in favour of the USA and has previously warned Washington that Paris was ready to reject any agreement.
“The Americans give nothing or just crumbs. that is not how negotiations are done between allies”, he said.
“We need a clear and definitive halt to these negotiations in order to restart on a good foundation”.
Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany’s vice chancellor, compared the TTIP negotiations unfavorably with a free trade deal forged between the 28-nation European Union and Canada, which he said was fairer for both sides.
But any chances of a deal now appear impossible.
“The negotiations with the USA have de facto failed, because we as Europeans, of course, should not subject ourselves to American demands”, Gabriel said in an interview with German ZDF television on Weekend.
On Sunday, the vice chancellor told German television that “the talks with the U.S. have de facto failed because we Europeans of course must not succumb to American demands”.
Asked to comment on Gabriel’s remarks, a European Commission spokesman said “the ball is still rolling” on TTIP.
“The ball is rolling right now”.
Keen to disarm TTIP as an electoral weapon, the commission, the EU’s executive arm which conducts all bloc trade negotiations, said a deal would not come at any cost.
TTIP negotiations have been ongoing since 2013 in an effort to establish a massive free trade zone that would eliminate many tariffs but which critics contend would jeopardize American businesses.
Britain’s June vote to leave the European Union has further clouded the picture, though Ms Schinas insisted that Brussels was still negotiating on behalf of all 28 members of the bloc, including London.
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The setbacks have raised serious doubts that it will be achieved by the end of the year as hoped. Both sides have sought to conclude the negotiations by the end of this year.
