Michael Sauga — Free Tradeoffs: TTIP is Flawed -- But Necessary

Here, however, is what critics are overlooking: Germany is an export nation whose success largely depends on it determining relevant global standards. It currently still has an advantage, but since the population-rich emerging economies in Asia have begun catching up technologically and uniting themselves into powerful alliances, that lead is shrinking. In the next few years, new trade agreements will be created all around the world, with key regulations applying to security, the environment and privacy. The question is: Will they be more European or more Asian in spirit?

For this reason, the TTIP isn't just an economic but a political project. Are the aging democracies of the West prepared to overcome national reservations and create a common economic area for 300 million Americans and 500 million Europeans? Are they intent on playing a part in determining the rules of the global economic game in the 21st century -- or do they want to leave this task to others? Nowhere is the trans-Atlantic frustration about the TTIP being followed with as much secret pleasure as in the planning staffs of the Kremlin's Vladimir Putin or China's head of state Xi Jinping.…

Oh, wait: "When more than 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy. We should write those rules, " — US President Barack Obama.