Why Germans Hate The U.S – Europe Trade Deal?

Germany witnessed thousands of people march against the planned free trade deal between Europe and the U.S., people from Berlin, Munich and many other cities had organized protests on Saturday.

While this deal is being shunned across Europe, Germany seems to be dead-on against it. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will allow grater power for corporations and to engage in trade between U.S. and Europe which the protesters believe will allow American Corporations will erode the local food and environmental standards.

On the offset, Germany is pretty high on anti-American sentiments right now linked to revelations of U.S. Spying and fears of digital domination by firms like Google.

A recent YouGov poll showed that 43 percent of Germans believe TTIP would be bad for the country, compared to 26 percent who see it as positive.

In Berlin, a crowd estimated by police at 1,500 formed a human chain winding from the Potsdamer Platz square, past the U.S. embassy and through the Brandenburg Gate to offices of the European Commission.

In Munich, police put the crowd at 3,000, while organizers Attac estimated it at 15,000. Hundreds also marched in Leipzig, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and other European cities on what Attac hailed as a “global day of action” against free trade, though the protests appeared to be largest in Germany.

“I think this deal will open the door to genetically-modified foods here,” said Jennifer Ruffatto, 28, who works with handicapped people and was pushing her baby in a stroller. “Companies will gain from this at the expense of people.”

Helmut Edelhauesser, a 52-year-old from Brandenburg, said he would prefer a free trade deal with Russia.

“The U.S. push for world domination is unacceptable,” he told Reuters. “Obama sends out drones to kill people and wins the Nobel peace prize. This has to stop.”

Marchers held up posters reading “People have a right to food not profits” and “Beware the TTIP trap – companies win, people lose!”