MUNICH �� Protesters gathered in seven German cities Saturday to oppose trans-Atlantic trade agreements between the European Union and the U.S. and Canada.
Campaigners assembled in cities including Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and Munich.
Protesters included the Green Party, labor unions, local farmer groups and nongovernment organizations like Greenpeace. They argued that the trade agreements would favor industrialized agricultural production over craft-based food production not involving genetic engineering, cost thousands of jobs and lead to lower standards on employment and food safety.
Officials such as French Minister of Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl and German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel have been talking down the prospects of an agreement between the U.S. and the E.U. on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Their skepticism reflects mounting concern across Europe and in the U.S. over the impact of free-trade agreements.
While the advocates of the U.S. deal point to the economic benefits and the introduction of global standards, its detractors say it will erode wages and conditions. A populist surge is meanwhile feeding protectionist sentiment that further complicates the conclusion of trade agreements such as an E.U. deal with Canada, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
At the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China, this month, global economic leaders stepped up warnings that the populist mood sweeping many developed nations is a threat to trade and growth, calling for governments and businesses to fight to keep goods flowing across borders. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde urged corporate chiefs to lobby governments to keep trade flows up as she cautioned about the outlook for growth into 2017.
