Washington and Brussels are scrambling to rebuild momentum for a landmark trade accord as signs grow that it is faltering under an increasingly bitter onslaught from politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, travelled to Paris yesterday to sell potentially the world’s biggest trade deal to one of the toughest constituencies in Europe — a convention of France’s mayors.
He reassured them that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would not hurt their interests. “I believe that TTIP negotiations can yield a deal that will profit the European economy — our SMEs and our farmers — without harming standards,” he said.