Tens of thousands demonstrate in Germany against EU-US trade deal
Police said around 100,000 took part in the demonstration, while organisers claimed 250,000 turned out, banging on drums, chanting slogans and waving signs and flags opposing the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Germany’s government has pushed the deal, saying it will boost the global economy and give smaller and mid-sized companies a better chance at competing on the world market while reducing bureaucracy.
Protesters, organised by the Confederation of German Trade Unions, known by its acronym DGB, worry that an agreement could lower food safety standards and undermine local regulations by giving international arbitration panels the power to rule over disputes.
One float in the protest showed Chancellor Angela Merkel lighting the fuse of a bomb while sitting on a building labelled “Democracy.”
The European Union and United States have been negotiating since 2013 on the trade deal and supporters hope it will gain momentum now that the US, Japan and other Pacific Rim nations have reached an agreement on a separate trade deal.
