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Washington and Brussels are officially committed to sealing the
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) before
U.S. President Barack Obama leaves office in January.
But chances of doing so are being eroded by approaching
elections, fallout from Britain's June vote to leave the
European Union and a groundswell of critical opinion, notably in
the EU's biggest economies Germany and France.
"One should stop the negotiations now and start the entire
process afresh," Reinhold Mitterlehner, a member of Austria's
conservative junior coalition party who is also vice-Chancellor,
told ORF radio on Wednesday.
U.S. elections in November could be a starting point for a new
attempt, he said. "Only the greatest optimists expect that (TTIP)
can be completed this year," Mitterlehner told the APA news
agency.
French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl said on Tuesday he would
request a halt to the TTIP talks at an EU trade ministers'
meeting next month.
At the weekend, German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the
talks were "de facto dead", though Chancellor Angela Merkel
backs the talks and Italy's trade and industry minister said it
was essential they bore fruit.
In Austria, public opposition is strong due to concerns the
agreement might lower food safety standards and threaten
European business.
A spokesman for Chancellor Christian Kern said there were still
many open questions and he was quite skeptical about the TTIP
negotiations. Kern is due to hold a press conference on TTIP on
Friday.
(Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; editing by John Stonestreet)
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