France said Tuesday it wanted to halt thorny EU-US trade talks as President Francois Hollande underlined there would be no deal until after President Barack Obama leaves office in January.
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“It’s better to let everyone know that France will not be able to approve an accord that still lacks essential elements necessary to guarantee a positive outcome”.
“I don’t want to analyse the mind and the intentions of President Hollande”.
Hollande added that the positions of some negotiating parties had “not been respected”.
“The discussions on TAFTA (Transatlantic Free Trade Area) for some, TTIP for others, can not result in an agreement by the end of the year and France can not approve it”, Hollande told diplomats.
U.S. elections aside, pressure on the trade negotiations is also rising as Germany and France will hold elections within a year. Both US presidential candidates, for example, say they oppose the TPP.
Gabriel’s comments found an echo on Tuesday in French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl, who said he would request a halt to the trade talks at September’s meeting of European Union trade ministers in Bratislava. Italy’s Economic Development Minister Carlo Calenda said in an interview with Corriere della Sera that talks will require many more months.
France seeks halt to talks on EU-US trade deal was posted in Business of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 31, 2016 and was last updated on August 31, 2016.
Mr Fekl also told RMC radio that “we need a clear, clean, definitive stop” to the negotiations, adding that talks could resume if wider EU-US trade relations improved.
Her spokesman insisted on Monday that talks should continue, while Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier – also a member of the SPD – said on Tuesday that both sides were still far away from agreeing on standards and procedures.
“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”, he told a press briefing.
“The Americans give nothing, or just crumbs”.
However Fekl said Paris sees an imbalance in the negotiations in favour of the U.S. side. “The Commission is making steady progress”, Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said.
“Commissioner Malmstrom and U.S. representative Froman are continuing the talks and Ministers will have a chance to take stock of these talks at the upcoming informal trade council in Bratislava on September 22”.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the EU, responded Monday by saying that it is “making steady progress in the ongoing TTIP negotiations”.
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Britain’s June vote to leave the European Union has further clouded the picture, even though the Commission has a mandate to finalize TTIP talks on behalf of all European Union 28 members.
