What lies behind the new trade agreement

The TTIP promises major benefits to the EU and US, but can it possibly live up to the hype, removing barriers to trade between the continents and benefiting both. Peter O’Dwyer reports.

A golden opportunity to bolster Europe’s position at the centre of the world economy or a full-frontal attack on democracy further empowering the world’s largest corporations? The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a topic of fierce debate that shows no sign of abating.

TTIP, used in preference to the proposed free trade agreement’s rather unwieldy full title, is perhaps the most rigorously debated acronym in the world right now, drawing the ire of Americans and Europeans, supporters and protesters alike.