Thousands of people recently demonstrated in Brussels against free trade deals negotiated by the EU. This happened just days before a meeting of EU trade ministers in Bratislava last month, which was considered the last push to salvage the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the United States. Not only is Europe divided on the deal, but the talks have been extremely secretive.
Many protestors were especially opposed to the secrecy surrounding the trade deals.
It appears that the two partners wanted the negotiations process to remain well under the public’s radar, counting on people being distracted by other matters, such as ‘Brexit,’ terrorism, the refugee crisis, and the ongoing economic slump.
It proved impossible, though, to keep voters and taxpayers on both sides of the Atlantic completely in the dark about the terms of a deal that has the potential to affect their lives, jobs, and businesses directly and decisively.
What is the story behind this secret agreement that Obama and Merkel have been pushing for so strongly? Why is there no transparency? Why has information that is of crucial public interest been withheld throughout the process?
This post was published at Ludwig von Mises Institute on Oct 17, 2016.
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