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The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated by the United States and the European Union is widely touted as the largest and most ambitious regional free-trade agreement in the history of international trade. Further setting it apart from other free-trade deals is the attempt to establish common regulatory standards for the transatlantic marketplace, bringing societal values and preferences about such issues as food safety, environmental protection, and data confidentiality to the forefront of media attention and public debate. This paper offers an analysis of the core motivations and interests of the United States compared to those of its partner, the European Union, then contrasts these official positions with the views of the public and civil society stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic. Tentative conclusions are drawn suggesting that the success of TTIP hinges more on smoothing internal divisions on both sides of the Atlantic than on unifying oppositions across it.