Obama defends US-EU free trade agreement amid mass protest in Germany

A recent survey found that public support for the agreement have dropped sharply in both Germany and the United States in recent years. Concerns of the opponents include declines in consumer and labor protection, environment standards as well as the secrecy of the negotiations.

Support for the TTIP, which is said to create the world's largest free trade area with 800 million people, has eroded among Germans and Americans.

According to a survey done by Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation, one in three Germans now rejects the TTIP. Among US citizens, despite a growing support for free trade in general, only 15 percent favor it, a sharp decline from more than 50 percent in 2014.

People at the demonstration said the march was not about anti-American sentiment. US citizens were among those taking part in the march, holding up a sign reading "Americans against TTIP."

Obama said differences between the two sides are narrowing and he's confident that the agreement will be completed finally although he cannot anticipate that the deal will be ratified by the end of this year.

Merkel also defended the free trade agreement under negotiations between the US and European Union on Sunday, saying the agreement would benefit the economy on both sides of the Atlantic.

"It is very helpful to allow our economy in Europe to grow, It's important for the German economy, it's important for the European economy," said Merkel, adding that both the EU and US have interest in speeding up the negotiations, which was launched in July 2013.

The negotiations on the TTIP agreement have been going on since 2013.

The 13th round of EU-US talks on the deal kicked off in New York on April 25. A draft of the full text of the agreement is expected before the end of the year.