Merkel urges Europeans to speed up TTIP trade talks with U.S.

SYDNEY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged European nations on Sunday to speed up their negotiations with the United States over a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the U.S. and EU.

EU, US aim to overcome key trade talks barrier by January

Differences on norms set for anything from food and aviation safety, to standards for electric cars or the regulation of financial services, stand in the way of efforts to strike an ambitious transatlantic deal creating the world's largest free trade area.