At least 150,000 people marched in Berlin on Saturday in protest against a planned free-trade deal between Europe and the US that they say is anti-democratic and would lower food safety, labor and environmental standards.
Organizers — an alliance of environmental groups, charities and opposition parties — said 250,000 people had taken part in the rally against free-trade deals with both the US and Canada, far more than they had anticipated.
“This is the biggest protest that this country has seen for many, many years,” Campact citizens’ movement director Christoph Bautz told protesters in a speech.
Photo: EPA
Police said 150,000 people had taken part in the demonstration, which was trouble free. There were 1,000 police officers on duty at the march.
Opposition to the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has risen over the past year in Germany, with critics fearing the pact would hand too much power to big multinationals at the expense of consumers and workers.
“What bothers me the most is that I don’t want all our consumer laws to be softened,” Oliver Zloty told Reuters TV.
“And I don’t want to have a dictatorship by any companies,” he said.
German Left party parliamentary group deputy leader Dietmar Bartsch, who was taking part in the rally, said he was concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the talks.
“We definitely need to know what is supposed to be being decided,” he said.
Marchers banged drums, blew whistles and held up posters reading “Yes we can — Stop TTIP.”
The level of resistance has taken German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government by surprise and underscores the challenge it faces to turn the tide in favor of the deal, which proponents say would create a market of 800 million and serve as a counterweight to China’s economic clout.
In a full-page letter published on Saturday in several German newspapers, German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel warned against “scaremongering.”
“We have the chance to set new and good standards for growing global trade. With ambitious, standards for the environment and consumers and with fair conditions for investment and workers. This must be our aim,” Gabriel wrote.
Businesses hope the trade deal might deliver more than US$100 billion of economic gains on both sides of the Atlantic.
“A fair and comprehensive free trade deal promotes growth and prosperity in Europe. We should actively participate in the rules for world trade of tomorrow,” BDI Federation of German industries head Ulrich Grillo said in a statement.
Meanwhile, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem might propose eliminating 97 percent of tariffs in trade with the US at a meeting in Miami this month, Der Spiegel reported, without citing anyone.
The suggestion is an attempt to avoid failure in talks over the TTIP, the German news magazine said. While some agricultural products would be affected, the EU Commission wants to avoid a full liberalization of that market, Spiegel reported.
The commission expects the US to make an offer that would make it easier for European companies to win orders from public authorities in the world’s largest economy, according to the magazine.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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