Barack Obama and Angela Merkel have called fortalks over a transatlantic trade deal to be completedthis year as fears mount that the opportunity toreach an agreement is slipping away.

巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)和安格拉•默克尔(AngelaMerkel)呼吁在今年完成一项跨大西洋贸易协定的谈判。目前人们越来越担心达成协议的机遇正在流失。

The US president used a visit to Hanover in Germanyon Sunday to try to breathe new life into theTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership,which has been beset by political opposition in the US and Europe.

美国总统利用周日访问德国汉诺威的机会，试图为《跨大西洋贸易与投资伙伴关系协定》(TransatlanticTrade and Investment Partnership，简称TTIP)注入新活力。该协定目前在美国和欧洲都遭到了政治反对。

“I am confident we will get this done,” Mr Obama said, talking about completing thenegotiations this year. But he said time was “not on our side”, calling on all European leaders tosupport the deal and not “let this opportunity close”.

“我相信我们会完成这项工作，”奥巴马表示。但他表示，时间“不站在我们这一边”，他呼吁所有欧洲领导人支持这项协定，而不要让“这扇机遇大门关闭”。

President Obama was in Germany after a visit to Saudi Arabia and the UK where he waded intothe Brexit debate, urging Britain to remain in the EU.

奥巴马总统是在访问沙特阿拉伯和英国之后访问德国的。他在访英期间介入了英国退欧(Brexit)的辩论，敦促英国留在欧盟。

Speaking at a joint press conference, Mr Obama went out of his way to praise the Germanchancellor, who has been one of his closest confidants among international leaders but whosedomestic political standing has been undermined by the migrant crisis.

在与默克尔的联合记者会上，奥巴马对德国总理大加赞赏。默克尔一直是最能与他推心置腹的世界领导人之一，但其在国内的政治地位近来被难民危机削弱。