The future of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, under negotiation for three years, is looking increasingly dimmer. After Germany’s vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, late last week voiced his opinion that the pact is all but dead, France’s state secretary for foreign trade, Matthias Fekl, made ripples across Europe On Aug. 30 calling  for the French government to end the talks.

Fekl said France would use the foreign ministers’ summit scheduled for the end of September in Bratislava, Slovakia, to “clearly and definitively” break off negotiations. A majority of EU citizens is opposed to the treaty, he said, and France should be their spokesperson. French president, Francois Hollande, previously termed the hope of signing the trade agreement before the end of this year “illusionary.”

The European Commission “stands ready to close this deal by the end of the year,” a spokesperson stressed in Brussels.. The Commission is making steady progress in the negotiations, which have entered a crucial stage, said Margaritis Schinas. EU trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, said it was “hardly surprising” that some were urging an end to the negotations, but even though “very difficult,” they are “making progress,” she said.

At the same time, a spokesperson for US President Barack Obama said it is still the government’s target to complete a deal by the end of 2016. US chief negotiator Michael Froman is due to visit Europe during September.

German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle offered a foreign trade expert’s take on the problem-laden negotiations. Caroline Freund told the broadcaster the TTIP talks negotiations have hit an impasse for two reasons: on the European side Brexit, and on the US side the failure to gain approval for another trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership) (TPP). “TTIP can't really happen until after TPP gets approved,” Freund said.

The US has made no secret of the fact that TPP, as it involves trade with China in particular, has priority over TTIP. US companies and some consumer organizations are concerned about the high level of Chinese goods in the US market.