A curse or a blessing? Industry experts and their associations agree that the planned transatlantic free trade agreement TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) between the EU and the USA makes sense and serves a good purpose. The question of whether SMEs would benefit from the agreement is also generally answered in the affirmative. But practically no one ventures beyond general statements.



"The negotiations are still ongoing - and as with every contract negotiation, the positions at the start of negotiations are not the same as the final result," says Martin Leutz from the employers' association Gesamtmetall.

German mechanical engineering companies are wavering between agreement and uncertainty. In the current cover story, "MM Maschinenmarkt" sheds light on the expectations and fears based on assessments, voices and opinions from the industry and analyzes the pros and cons of TTIP from the industry's perspective.



"In our research, we found a great desire to finally get rid of unnecessary duplication of technical work caused by different international standards. However, smaller companies in particular are concerned that rules will be imposed without their consent," says Frank Jablonski, Editor-in-Chief of "MM MaschinenMarkt".



You can order a free press copy of the current "MM MaschinenMarkt" at: gunther.schunk@vogel.de.



"MM MaschinenMarkt" is published weekly in Germany with a circulation of 40,392 copies. The industry magazine offers business news, management information and practical technical reports for decision-makers in production, automation and construction in the entire manufacturing industry. MM is published internationally in China, India, Thailand, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Austria and Switzerland with a total annual circulation of over 6 million copies. The specialist portal maschinenmarkt.de is primarily aimed at managers and specialists in the core sectors of the manufacturing industry in seven topic channels. The parent company Vogel Business Media is Germany's largest trade media company with 100+ trade journals, 100+ web portals, 100+ business events as well as numerous mobile offerings and international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2016.