TTIP: Yes or No? — A Brief Checklist

1. A good rule of thumb is this: Whenever the U.S. government wants to rush the political calendar, be extra careful. Remember the Iraq invasion.

2. Given what’s at stake in the TTIP agreement, there definitely is no reason to rush this deal. It needs significant improvements.

3. The benefits resulting from a TTIP deal are much smaller than advertised or implied.

4. Transatlantic business relations are already very deep. By definition, any further progress must be quite marginal.

5. At the core of the TTIP negotiating process are matters far larger than just another trade-expanding agreement.

6. The TTIP – in its current, very ambitious scope – will decide on key civilizational questions for both Europe and the United States.

7. The two transatlantic partners have very different visions of the future in mind.

8. In the United States, the privacy rights of citizens ultimately count for very little. The opposite is the case in Europe.

9. Europe should insist on ironing out the Google, Apple, et al. issues before any far-reaching TTIP deal is signed.

10. A much more limited TTIP deal – further optimizing the transatlantic business relationship – is conceivable, but business boosters don’t consider it that “sexy.”

11. There is no need for Europe to get steamrolled on vital issues such as privacy in a hastily concluded TTIP deal.