French Education and Research minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (L) and junior Minister for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl, leave after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday said the United States had effectively ended talks on a free trade deal with the European Union because Washington had not wanted to compromise with its European counterparts.

The U.S. and the EU have been negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for three years and both had aimed to agree a deal this year. A spokesman for the U.S. trade chief told Der Spiegel on Tuesday that talks on TTIP were progressing.

“I believe that the Americans have actively ended TTIP. I don’t see any willingness to compromise with the Europeans,” Gabriel told a news conference in Berlin.

He added that TTIP had no chance of being agreed before a U.S. election due in November.