Europe Afraid TTIP Deal to Result in US-Style Capitalism

© AFP 2023 / JOHN MACDOUGALLA sign reading "Democracy is no trading good, Stop TTIP" is lifted in front of the US embassy during a protest against the proposed US-EU free trade pact or Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in Berlin on April 18, 2015
A sign reading Democracy is no trading good, Stop TTIP is lifted in front of the US embassy during a protest against the proposed US-EU free trade pact or Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in Berlin on April 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
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European leaders have an irrational fear that the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement will force Europe to adopt a US-style capitalistic model that favors the elite, former US Treasury official Gary Hufbauer told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The TTIP agreement seeks to liberalize trade between the United States and Europe and create the world's largest trade zone, encompassing more than 60 percent of global production.

"Many Europeans dislike the US brand of capitalism, especially the 'winner-take-all' flavor for those at the top and the 'help yourself' recommendation for those at the bottom," Hufbauer said on Wednesday. "They fear, wrongly, that TTIP will lead Europe to adopt the US economic model."

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The eleventh round of TTIP talks is set to take place from October 19 to 23 in Miami, Florida, during which negotiators are expected to largely focus on peak tariffs related to garments, specialty chemicals and agricultural products, Hufbauer explained.

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The agenda for the February 2016 session, he noted, will center on negotiating federal and sub-federal government procurement provisions.

TTIP has stirred controversy around the world, with opponents saying it has been negotiated in secret and undermines environmental, health, safety and labor standards, while proponents argue it will spur economic growth.

On Saturday, about 100,000 people rallied in Berlin, Germany to protest the TTIP free trade pact.

Gary Hufbauer is a Senior Fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Previously, he served as US Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Trade and Investment Policy.

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