A varied coalition of organizations helped plan the event, but the stated rationale for opposing the agreements centers on the belief that such deals “primarily serve the interests of powerful economic interest groups, and thus only cement the imbalance between the common good and economic interests.”
Yet while the organizers talk of seeking to maintain the sanctity of democracy and rule of law, critics of the movement charge that its ranks have swelled as much on anti-Americanism as on any political or economic philosophy.
The deals in question are the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and the European Union and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) for the Canadian-EU relationship. Neither free trade agreement has been ratified yet, but popular outcry has been growing for the last few years.
Saturday’s marches come during a key period for both deals. U.S. President Barack Obama has said he hopes to conclude the TTIP negotiations by the end of the year, but that goal suffered a series of blows last month when French and German politicians openly questioned whether any deal was on the horizon. But the White House has indicated it won’t back down, and so it will be making a concerted push to solidify the terms of the TTIP before Obama is out of office.
In fact, there is “no legitimate plan B” for eventually crafting an agreement between the U.S. and the EU if the deal doesn’t happen this year, former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan Selig said in June.
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