October 9, 2015 11:44AM # Will TTIP Wilt in the Shadow of the Aging German Voter? By [Daniel J. Ikenson](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-j-ikenson) --- SHARE In today’s [Cato Online Forum](https://www.cato.org/economics-geopolitics-architecture-ttip-cato-online-forum) essay, Iana Dreyer of the EU trade news service Borderlex [marshals public opinion data to support a rather gloomy prediction](https://www.cato.org/publications/cato-online-forum/politics-ttip-europe-shadow-ageing-german-voter) about the chances for a robust and comprehensive TTIP outcome. Despite having “strong ‘Atlanticist’ instincts and the vision for Europe as a dynamic, globalized, economic powerhouse,” the EU’s business community and its cosmopolitan policy makers are likely to be thwarted by demographics: especially, by the aging German voter. Iana concludes that the likely outcome will be a TTIP agreement that reflects the sensibilities of older, risk-averse Europeans who are unwilling to gamble with their social safety nets, even though those safety nets are not really on the negotiating table, which means a rather shallow and limited agreement at best. The essay is offered in conjunction with a Cato Institute TTIP conference being held on Monday. Read it. Provide feedback. And register to attend the conference [here](https://www.cato.org/events/will-transatlantic-trade-investment-partnership-live-its-promise). ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies), [Center for Representative Government](https://www.cato.org/center-representative-government), [Public Opinion](https://www.cato.org/public-opinion) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).