EU-U.S. trade pact ‘impossible’ this year, says French minister
France's junior minister for trade, Matthias Fekl, said it will be "impossible" for the EU and the United States to complete a free-trade agreement this year, reports the EurActiv news site. Fekl threw cold water on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on the same day the EU announced a slow-down in the approval process for a sweeping EU-Canada trade pact.