Rising Against the Machine: Some 5,000 Protest in Berlin Against TTIP Deal

Some 5,000 people took to the streets of the German capital on Saturday to protest against the free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The protesters were accompanied by 109 tractors, Berliner Zeitung newspaper said.

The demonstrators shouting the 'We Are Fed Up' slogan marched from Potsdamer Platz to the Chancellery building in Berlin.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement would reduce barriers to trade in goods and services between Europe and its largest export market, the United States.

Negotiations on the agreement have been ongoing between Washington and Brussels since 2013. The 12th round of US-EU talks is due to be held in early 2016 with the aim of drafting the full text of the agreement before the end of the year.

Anti-TTIP activists criticize the trade deal for the unusual secrecy in which it is being negotiated, and are concerned that released sections of the document clearly show that it will benefit multinational corporations and corporate rights-holders at the expense of sovereign nations and consumers.