Sigmar Gabriel of Germany, the EU’s biggest economy, said on Sunday that negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) had failed because Europe rejected some USA demands.
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She was speaking after comments over the weekend from German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who was quoted as saying that talks between the European Union and U.S. “have de facto broken down, even if no-one wants to say so”.
Christian Wigand, a spokesman for the European Commission, the EUs executive arm that is leading the TTIP negotiations, said Sunday that the institution had no comment or reaction at this time.
Sigmar Gabriel is quite the character in German politics.
“We Europeans can not subject ourselves to American demands, there’s no movement there”, Gabriel said.
The head of industry association BDI, Ulrich Grillo, said it was “astonishing” that Gabriel, who is also vice chancellor and head of the co-governing Social Democrats, had declared the TTIP talks a failure when negotiations were still going on.
“Talks are now indeed entering a crucial stage but. provided the conditions are right, the Commission stands ready to close this deal by the end of the year”, Schinas told a regular press briefing.
Supporters say the deal would create more than a million jobs.
Commenting separately on Gabriel’s remarks, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said he believed arriving at a deal would benefit both the European Union and the United States.
They are angry that the talks are being held in secret.
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.
Many in Europe are also anxious the deal could lead to a watering down of Europe’s existing regulations on food safety and environmental protection, which are often a lot stricter than in the U.S.
Popular opposition to a free trade agreement with the United States is strong in Germany.
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Hillary Clinton backed big free trade agreements when she was secretary of state, but she too is now voicing concerns.
