Diverse political and social groups including trade unions and environmental groups attended the rally that culminated at the national parliament, reflecting the wide-ranging affects the deal will have.
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“This is the biggest protest that this country has seen for many, many years”, Christoph Bautz, the director of Campact citizens movement, told protesters in a speech.
Protestors from all over Germany met in front of Berlin’s central rail station and later marched to the Victory Column, chanting slogans against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. “And I don’t want to have a dictatorship by any companies”. “We definitely need to know what is supposed to be being decided”, he said.
Supporters in Europe believed that the deal will boost exports, create jobs, fuel growth and strengthen Europe’s voice in world trade rules, while opponents feared that Europe’s strict standards on environment and food safety will be eroded, and local governments’ regulation power in dispute settling be weakened.
Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warned, in a letter published today in many German newspapers, against “scaremongering”.
“We have the chance to set new and good standards for growing global trade”.
Hoffmann demanded fair world trade and argued for the preservation of strong labor rights, as well as ecological and environmental standards. “This must be our aim”, Mr Gabriel wrote.
The protest also targets Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a similar trade deal that the EU is negotiating with Canada, which would also be bad for Europeans, according to critics.
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European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem may propose eliminating 97 percent of tariffs in trade with the U.S.at a meeting in Miami this month to avoid failure in the talks, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday, without citing anyone.
