The transatlantic trade and investment partnership: interest groups, public opinion and policy

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) constitutes an attempt to improve job creation and boost the economies on both sides of the Atlantic by eliminating tariffs and reducing other trade barriers, including many regulatory differences. Economic benefits and standard-setting impacts notwithstanding, politics and perceptions of acceptability, not economics, will determine the fate of the TTIP, thus making constituency support necessary for treaty ratification. This paper looks at the influence of civil society organisations on public opinion and mobilisation against the TTIP. It shows that opponents have made some inroads with the public. There are some correlations between anti-TTIP groups’ activities, public opinion, and changes in the way the European Commission approaches the TTIP negotiations.