Germany's economy minister says free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States have failed.

Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have made little progress in recent years.

Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany's vice-chancellor, said: "In my opinion the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it."

He noted that in 14 rounds of talks the two sides had not agreed on a single common chapter out of 27 being discussed.

Mr Gabriel compared the TTIP negotiations unfavourably with a free-trade deal forged between the EU and Canada, which he said was fairer for all sides.

If reached, the deal could encompass almost half the global economy, potentially generating €92 billion in added output for the EU and US.