EU-US trade deal 'impossible' in 2016: French minister It will be "impossible" for the European Union and the United States to conclude negotiations on a trade deal by the end of 2016, France's junior minister for trade and commerce. "I think a deal in 2016 is impossible and everyone knows it, including those who say otherwise," said the minister, Matthias Fekl in a statement highly critical of the deal. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES