17:18 GMT +3 hours30 April 2016
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Merkel on TTIP Deal: 'We Do Not Have to Run After US and Beg'

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The proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal contains legislation that is fundamentally right, because it is based on high EU standards, and Europe should play a proactive role in the talks, the German chancellor claimed on Tuesday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — It is not simply a trade pact, but an agreement based on high EU norms, Merkel added.

"I am deeply convinced that this agreement is correct, but…we do not have to run after the United States and beg, we should be more active in these negotiations, and we are doing this," Angela Merkel said, as broadcast by Germany’s NTV channel.

The controversial TTIP has come in for tough criticism for the unusual secrecy of its negotiations and the inability by any but the negotiators to see the text of the document.

The agreement seeks, according to TTIP-approved statements, the establishment of a transatlantic free-trade economic zone which would deregulate a consumer market containing an estimated 820 million people.

Critics of the deal point out that it threatens the principles of democracy, national sovereignty, the environment, as well as consumer and labor standards.

Related:
Bundestag President Demands Greater Transparency in TTIP Negotiations
Expediting TTIP Could Allow US Gov't to Avoid Dialogue on Workers' Rights
TTIP Free Trade Deal Negotiations Might Stretch Into 2018
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Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Angela Merkel, United States
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  • jas
    Peace and love. They are not complicated concepts.
  • Mitach2002
    If it was such a great deal for the people then why hide it.
  • In a near future all that "elite" will have to answer those "choices" for Us the people! Europe will fall apart and these "elite" with it.
  • ron
    Angela Merkel is an untrustworthy witch. The matter is not the trade agreement, more importantly that it is being kept from the public, a breach of democracy. She never touches on that it is secret therefore contradicts freedom.
  • Russell
    Merkel says TTIP is right but provides no evidence WHY it is right.

    This is typical dishonesty from a politician. The least she could do is make a logical case for it. But she won't explain its effects because TTIP will only benefit the bankers and the billionaires. And she knows it.
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