Germany’s Vice Chancellor has said free trade negotiations between the European Union and the United States have failed, but “nobody is really admitting it”.
Talks over the so-called Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partner, also known as TTIP, have made little progress in recent years.
The 14th round of negotiations between American and EU officials took place in Brussels in July and was the third round in six months.
At the time, the talks were thought to be in trouble with a number of leading European politicians expressing concern about TTIP’s effects and the US’s reluctance to accept changes to the proposed deal.
Speaking on Sunday, Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany’s economy minister, said: “In my opinion the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it."
He said that during the talks neither side had agreed on a single common chapter out of the 27 being deliberated.
He further denounced the TTIP negotiations, saying the free trade deal proposed between the EU and Canada – the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) - was fairer for all parties.
The UK was seen as one of the strongest supporters of TTIP in the EU, so its departure following the Brexit vote would remove one of the US's closest allies in the talks.
Campaigners have warned previously that the UK may end up with “TTIP on steroids” if it does leave the EU.
Campaigners against the controversial TTIP trade deal with the US fear the UK will negotiate an “even more disastrous” agreement after it leaves the European Union.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
