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French official sees little chance to sign TTIP trade deal by year-end

Xinhua, April 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

Matthias Fekl, French minister of state for foreign trade and the promotion of tourism and French nationals abroad, on Tuesday expressed little hope of concluding the talks on an EU-U.S. trade deal by the end of 2016.

Asked by RTL radio whether the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States would be signed during U.S. President Barack Obama's last months in office, Fekl said "I don't think so."

"We are moving away from either opportunities or risks...of the conclusion...we have set principles. We must integrate the environmental issue and transparency is still largely insufficient," he added.

"We will not sign at all costs," Fekl told RTL, noting that Europe mustn't follow the United States' pace.

In a recent interview, Fekl threatened to block the negotiations for a EU-U.S. trade deal if there was no progress on improving transparency and access to U.S. public markets.

European and U.S. negotiators were in New York since Monday for five days of a new round of discussions to bridge differences regarding the deal. Endit