“The negotiations with the United States of America have de facto failed because we Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands”, he said, according to a written transcript from German broadcaster ZDF of an interview due to be broadcast yesterday.
Advertisement
In 14 rounds of talks, the two sides had not agreed on a single common chapter out of 27 being discussed, Mr Gabriel said.
Barack Obama had warned Britain would be “back of the queue” for any new trade deal as TTIP was the priority.
He added: “The negotiations with the United States of America have.failed because we Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands”.
Gabriel said the USA and the European Union haven’t agreed on a single item out of 27 chapters being discussed, despite 14 rounds of talks, and he said Washington was “angry” about a similar trade agreement struck between Canada and the EU.
Mr Gabriel, who is also economy minister in Germany’s governing coalition and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy, told a news conference that as a result, the world now regarded Europe as an unstable continent.
At a town hall event, Mr Gabriel also reportedly warned that the European Union could face difficulties if it mishandled the process of Brexit.
And he urged Brussels not to let Britain “keep the nice things” when it game to negotiating the nation’s withdrawal from the bloc.
“We are determined to continue these negotiations”, added EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
His comments were welcomed by Brexit supporters who believe it will pave the way for UK-US trade talks.
The US leader warned that after Brexit the United Kingdom would be at the “back of the queue” for a trade deal because the US would focus on the larger prize offered by an EU-wide agreement.
“It will protect jobs, it will protect their regulatory rights, protect their abilities with respect to labour and the environment”, he said.
Advertisement
“What’s more, it’ll be a properly liberal agreement, based on free competition and maximum advantage to the consumer rather than on corporatism and the protection of vested interests”.
