In July, a group of people set off to do a hard thing, but an important thing. They wanted to collect 1 million signatures. Once attained, those 1 million signatures would force the European Commission to discuss an immediate halt to the ongoing trade talks between the EU and U.S. These talks are known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. For short, they are called the TTIP.

The letter asks for a new process for reaching trade agreements in which Congress has a role in selecting trade partners and in which Congress sets up a set of negotiating objectives that must be achieved.

Approximately 600 organizations have sent a formal, public letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) opposing "fast-track" trade promotion authority and calling for a new system for negotiating and implementing trade agreements. The letter asks for trade pacts that "deliver benefits for most Americans, promote broadly shared prosperity, and safeguard the environment and public health."Read the letter here