Does this mean WE would become that "low-cost pole (that Neutron Jack Welch spoke so highly of)" where Europeans could get their goods and services on the cheap, wreck what's left of their middle class and make THEIR fat cats even fatter?

... right now, with what wages there are declining.

And our fat cats are getting very much fatter.

EU Observer: Obama gives green light to EU-US trade deal

US President Barack Obama has given the green light for comprehensive trade talks between the EU and the US, paving the way for what could become the largest single free trade zone in the world. Delivering his annual State of the Union address to the US Congress on Tuesday (12 February), he told legislators that "we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union - because trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs."

Although the move does not come as a surprise, it is a coup for EU diplomats who have been working behind the scenes since November 2011 on preparing the ground for the bilateral free trade agreement.

The US and the EU already have a huge trade relationship, worth $2.7 billion per day in goods and services. Although tariff barriers between the two sides are already low - under 3 per cent in most cases - since November 2011, they have been exploring ways to deepen ties amid rising global competition, particularly from China.

The EU is currently devoting heavy political capital to bilateral trade accords. A free trade agreement was agreed with Singapore in December, while a deal with Canada is expected to be completed imminently. Negotiations with Japan are also expected to be launched in Tokyo in April, meaning that the EU will spend the next year brokering trade deals with two of the world's largest economies.

http://euobserver.com/economic/119051

The rights of people and citizens not so much. Just like all the other free trade deals.