TTIP free trade deal between US and EU at dead end: Italy minister

[ROME] A free trade deal being negotiated by the European Union and the United States is at a dead end and an agreement with Canada is also at risk, Italy's industry minister said on Tuesday.

"I think (the TTIP deal) will fall through, and the agreement with Canada is at risk of doing the same. We have been negotiating it for too long," Carlo Calenda said at an event in Rome.

Mr Calenda said confidence in the negotiations was lacking.

Talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a sweeping US-European free trade deal, started three years ago, but the two sides have been unable to settle differences over various issues, including agriculture.

REUTERS