Lammert said the German parliament cannot ratify the TTIP now. He criticized the limited access to the information about the agreement and said that many MPs do not even understand its essence.
"I think it is impossible that the Bundestag would ratify a trade agreement between the EU and the US, the realization of which it cannot join or influence via alternative options," the CDU politician told Funke Media Group.
Lammert views the "recent extremely limited access [to the information about the agreement] via the respective US embassies as unacceptable, both for the government and for the parliament."
The TTIP — Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership — is a potential trade and investment deal with the US that is currently being negotiated. Supporters of the deal argue that it would boost the economies on both sides of the Atlantic and dismantle trade barriers. Critics, however, fear that the agreement would result in the deterioration of social, environmental and consumer protection standards, as well as the weakening of democratic institutions.
