Free-trade talks between the United States and the European Union are in danger of being derailed by populist groups opposing everything from globalisation to multinationals, EU ministers and business leaders said yesterday.
The rise of anti-EU parties, reports of US spying in Europe and accusations that a trade pact would pander to big companies have combined to erode public support for a deal that proponents say would dramatically increase economic growth.
“We are grappling with people who are anti-European, who are anti-American, who are anti-free trade, who are anti-globalisation and who are anti-multinational corporations,” Finland’s minister for Europe and trade, Alexander Stubb, told his EU counterparts and business leaders at a meeting in Athens.
“We have an uphill battle to make the argument that this EU-US free-trade agreement is a good one,” he said in remarks that were broadcast to reporters.
With the eurozone’s economy barely out of a two-year recession, EU governments see a trade deal with the United States as the best way to create jobs.
We have an uphill battle to make the argument that this EU-US free-trade agreement is a good one
They say a pact encompassing almost half the world’s economy could generate $100 billion (€73 billion) in additional economic output a year on both sides of the Atlantic.
The EU and the US already trade almost $3 billion in goods and services each day, and by deepening economic ties, the pact could create a market of 800 million people where business could be done freely.
The EU’s trade chief Karel De Gucht conceded that, outside business circles, there was little public awareness about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, often known by its initials as “T-TIP”.
“When we talk about T-TIP, some people think it is an extraterrestrial,” De Gucht said.
Nils Andersen of Danish shipper A.P. Moller-Maersk, who was among chief executives invited to the debate, said there was a danger of voters being “hijacked by populist statements”.
Public support is crucial because the European Parliament and the US Congress must ratify the agreement once it is made.
EU lawmakers have already shown a willingness to reject deals they think do not have enough public support - for example the global Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement thrown out in 2012.
US-EU trade talks initially enjoyed a warm reception when they were launched in July last year.