Pressure on the concept of free trade is growing in the export nation of Germany. Only one out of five believes that the planned TTIP transatlantic free trade agreement is a good thing. One in three Germans reject the agreement completely. Only 18 percent of the US population opposes the TTIP. Concerns about the loss of regulatory quality, which citizens on both sides of the Atlantic criticize, are one reason why they reject it. These are the findings that emerged from a representative survey conducted by the market research firm YouGov on behalf of us that polled US and German residents on the topics of free trade and the TTIP.
In comparison to a Bertelsmann Stiftung survey from 2014, the number of Germans that agree with free trade in general – not just the TTIP – has declined. Two years ago a significant majority of 88 percent favored free trade in general. According to the latest poll, this approval has tumbled. Currently only about half of Germans still consider free trade a good idea. More than a quarter reject it entirely. Approval of the TTIP has also suffered in recent years: 55 percent were in favor in 2014 and 25 percent against.