Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in its current state. This comes just months

after US President Barack Obama’s visits to the United Kingdom and Germany, where thousands

of protesters urged him to stop TTIP negotiations. Opposition to the trade deal is nothing new,

and disputes among leaders on both sides of the Atlantic have stalled the treaty for nearly

three years. So what exactly is the TTIP and why is it so controversial?

Well, the TTIP is a potential trade agreement between the United States and the European

Union. The deal aims to make trade easier between the US and Europe by reducing tariffs

and altering regulations on goods, which vary from country to country. For instance, the

US has different food safety standards than countries in Europe, meaning that trading

meat and agricultural products is often difficult or impossible. The TTIP aims to resolve this

by harmonizing US and EU safety and production standards—not just on food, but on clothing,

pharmaceuticals and a slew of other goods. This is not unlike the TPP, or Trans Pacific

Partnership, which has almost identical goals, but exists mostly between Pacific Rim countries.

The Obama Administration and other proponents of the TTIP argue that the deal will boost

commerce between the US and Europe, thus creating millions of jobs in those regions and elsewhere.

According to the European Commission, the TTIP would lead to about $140 billion dollars

of economic growth for the EU, and nearly $110 billion dollars for the US over the next

decade.

But most of the controversy centers around the deal’s potential changes to regulation

and safety standards, particularly those in Europe. Activists and politicians have voiced

concern that the TTIP would force Europe to sacrifice their food, environmental and labor

standards in order to conform to the US’s comparatively lower standards. For example,

many US meat producers treat their chicken with chemicals like chlorine before its sold

to consumers, a practice that has long been outlawed in Europe out of fear that the chemical

is cancer-causing. Many speculate that should the TTIP go through, it would coerce European

chicken producers to adopt this controversial practice. Moreover, critics worry that the

deal gives corporations too much power, as it would allow foreign businesses to sue sovereign

governments if their regulations are deemed unfairly restrictive.

These speculations gained major footing in May 2016, when Greenpeace Netherlands leaked

248 pages of classified documents regarding the TTIP. The documents acknowledged “irreconcilable”

differences between US and EU standards, particularly in animal testing, engineering, drug safety

and the environment. However even after the leak, most TTIP negotiations have stayed confidential,

as negotiations are extremely secretive, even among lawmakers.

But many Europeans, particularly business leaders, have strongly advocated for the TTIP.

This, in part, comes from the fear that if the EU does not adopt the deal, Europe will

then have to increase trade with China, which in many cases has even lower production and

safety standards than the US.

And although vocal opposition may suggest otherwise, the TTIP is generally viewed as

beneficial among Europeans. A 2015 Pew report showed that nearly 60 percent of Europeans

favor stronger trade ties between Europe and the US Still, all 28 EU member states and

the European parliament must approve the TTIP before it takes effect. With France and other

European countries still opposed to the deal, it will likely be years before we see anything

come to fruition.

The TTIP’s sister agreement, the TPP, is just as controversial, if not moreso. You

can learn more about the Trans Pacific Partnership by watching this video. Thanks for checking

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