France Urges Halt to Transatlantic Trade Talks

Current Transatlantic trade talks should be halted and a new set started, France's trade minister said on Tuesday, adding his voice to German calls for an end to the negotiations. Matthias Fekl said he would request a halt to negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on behalf of France at next month's meeting of European Union trade ministers in Bratislava.  "There should be an absolute clear end so that we can restart them on good basis," he said on RMC Radio, adding he would suggest that course to fellow ministers. 

    German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Sunday that TTIP negotiations had effectively failed after Europe refused to accept some US demands. Three years of talks have failed to resolve multiple differences, including over food and environmental safety, but the USTR's spokesman told German magazine Der Spiegel the negotiations "are in fact making steady progress". 

    The White House has said this week it aims to reach a deal by the end of the year. "It's going to require the resolution of some pretty thorny negotiations, but the president and his team are committed to doing that," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington.