French Trade Minister Calls for Halt to TTIP Trade Deal Talks

France calls for a halt to the current negotiations on the TTIP free trade deal.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Paris calls for a halt to the current negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal, French Minister of State for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl said Tuesday.

“France demands to halt the negotiations on TAFTA [Transatlantic Free Trade Area], TTIP,” Fekl said on Twitter Monday.

In Tuesday's interview with the RMC radio, the minister said there was no political support for the TTIP left in France.

"The negotiations are not at the level appropriate for the existing historical relationship between Europe and the United States," Fekl told the radio station.

Fekl also said in the interview that he would address EU trade ministers with the issue at the Bratislava summit in September and ask to restart the negotiations anew.

He also reminded that it was up to the European Commission to decide on the deal, as it is the body responsible for the bloc's free trade talks with Washington.

On Sunday, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said TTIP negotiations had effectively failed as Brussels has denied to go along with some of Washington’s demands that could violate environmental legislation, banking procedures and investment rights.

The US government has started the discussions over the free trade zone with the European Union in 2013. The details of the TTIP deal including specific rules of market access have not been released the public.