Yesterday, NPR reported that Sigmar Gabriel, German vice chancellor and economy minister, had said publically (for the first time) that talks aimed at setting up a U.S.-European free trade zone under TTIP have run aground because of “intransigence on Washington’s part”.

“In my opinion the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed even though nobody is really admitting it,” he said Sigmar Gabriel, in an interview with the broadcaster ZDF on Sunday.

Negotiations have reportedly stalled because of the unexpected decision by Britain to leave the EU and because of growing public opposition to trade agreements on both sides of the Atlantic.

Gabriel said the U.S. and the EU “haven’t agreed on a single item out of 27 chapters being discussed, despite 14 rounds of talks”, and he said Washington was “angry” about a similar trade agreement struck between Canada and the EU. He said Europe “must not succumb to American demands.” (Extracted from the NPR website)

One has the impression that the US Administration thought TTIP would be a slam dunk, and that everyone would gratefully accept the self-interested proposals of American lobbyists, which have little to do with actual trade but a lot to do with cementing the corporatocracy in place for another generation. I doubt the implication of crass arrogance can be attributed to the Obama trade negotiators themselves; they are simply weak, doing the bidding of the people with the real power. If the latter get a slap in the face then this has to be an Epicurean outcome.