France rules out EU-US trade deal, wants talks halted

AFP

France said on Tuesday it wanted to halt thorny EU-US trade talks as President Francois Hollande said there would be no deal at least until after President Barack Obama leaves office in January.
Junior trade minister Matthias Fekl said there was “no more political support in France” for the talks because US negotiators were offering “nothing or just crumbs”.
“France calls for an end to these negotiations,” Fekl told RMC radio.
Hollande, in a speech to France’s diplomatic corps, chose his words more carefully but said it would be an “illusion” to say a deal was close.
“The current discussions on the treaty between Europe and the United States will not lead to an agreement by the end of the year,” he said.
“France would rather see things as they are and not harbour the illusion that an agreement will be struck before the end of the US president’s term in office.”
The EU Commission and US negotiators began work on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in 2013, aiming to create the world’s largest free-trade area before Obama ends his term.
But the talks have become bogged down amid widespread suspicion in the 28-nation EU that a deal would undercut the bloc’s standards in key areas such as health and welfare.
Fekl said Paris sees an imbalance in the negotiations in favour of the US side.
“The Americans give nothing or just crumbs… that is not how negotiations are done between allies,” he said.
‘Clear and
definitive halt’
“We need a clear and definitive halt to these negotiations in order to restart on a good foundation.”
France will make its case for the talks to be halted at a meeting of foreign trade ministers in Bratislava in September, Fekl added. He did not say when or under what conditions the talks could restart.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls had earlier said it would be “impossible” for the two sides to conclude negotiations on a trade deal by the end of 2016.
And Germany’s vice chancellor and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel said Sunday the negotiations were effectively dead in the water.
“The talks with the US have de facto failed because we Europeans of course must not succumb to American demands… nothing is moving forward”, Gabriel said.
But the European Commission on Monday rejected the German claims and insisted the talks remained on track. “The ball is rolling right now. The Commission is making steady progress,” Commission spokesman
Margaritis Schinas said.
“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.
Activists who have opposed TTIP since negotiations began in 2013 say the deal would only benefit multinationals and harm consumers.
Behind the scenes, top diplomats have said talks may be suspended until after the US presidential election in November and could even be put on hold until after elections in France and Germany next year.
All EU member states and the European parliament must ratify any TTIP deal before it can take effect.

‘TTIP negotiations not broken down’

AFP

Tough EU-US trade talks have not broken down and the aim is still a deal by the time
President Barack Obama leaves office, the EU trade commissioner said.
“I do not agree that TTIP negotiations have failed. They have been difficult, of course, we knew from the beginning, but they have not failed,”
Cecilia Malmstroem said of the Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership
negotiations.
admitted there would be no deal by the end of this year as originally envisaged when the talks started in 2013.
“I don’t want to analyse the mind and the intentions of President Hollande. And it is clear that for the moment we do not have enough — we can’t conclude before the end of the year,” the Swede said.
But she added: “We have the aim and we still have… that we should aim to conclude under the Obama presidency. That is still our aim.
“And if that is not possible it makes sense to make as much progress as possible.”