Don’t Be Afraid of America’s Chlorinated Chickens!

http://watchingamerica.com/News/240219/dont-be-afraid-of-americas-chlorinated-chickens/

Many Germans warn of a free trade agreement with the U.S. They fear lax controls on foodstuffs. At the same time, America is stricter than the EU in numerous areas. The treaty would bring advantages.

Don’t Be Afraid of America’s Chlorinated Chickens!
Die Welt, Germany
By Ansgar Graw
Translated By Sandra Alexander
27 May 2014
Edited by Eva Langman

A specter is circulating in Europe — the specter of chlorinated roosters. All the nongovernmental organizations of old Europe have joined together in a holy hounding of this specter. Leftists, Greens and AfD (Alternative for Germany) are against it, as are many Social Democrats and quite a number of Christian Democrats. Churches and unions warn of it; the German consumer is afraid.

“Stop the chlorinated rooster” is the demand, which means “No” to the trans-Atlantic free trade agreement. The European election fueled the campaigns against the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Now, after the election, a poisoned climate remains.

The agreement would bring together the most powerful economic blocs in the world, let customs duties disappear and unify standards. This promises momentum for growth on both sides of the Atlantic, more competition, lower prices and new jobs. The Bertelsmann Foundation estimates there would be over one million additional jobs in the U.S. and more than 180,000 in Germany alone. The agreement would be worth around 100,000 billion euros for the EU.

Russian-Chinese Competition

Yet beyond these economic numbers, the trans-Atlantic free trade agreement achieves importance in terms of geopolitical considerations because Moscow and Beijing, both far more than mere regional powers, are for the moment departing from their traditional rivalry. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingping have just signed long-negotiated agreements that are thoroughly throwing international energy markets into a whirl. Thirty-eight billion cubic meters of Russian gas will flow into China yearly for the next four decades. It is streaming eastward at a discounted price. But the agreement delivers an alternative option for Putin while the Europeans, due to the Ukraine crisis, are discussing reducing their energy dependence on Russia.