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News from the movements

Empty promises and prospects: The US-led economic agreement is a liability for Fiji
26-May-2023 PANG
This weekend in Detroit, Trade Ministers from eleven countries will be meeting for the latest round of negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a secretive geopolitical and economic agreement aimed to curtail China.
What to watch at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial in Detroit
26-May-2023 Public Citizen
As trade ministers gather for the second ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks, recent developments on the ground in Detroit indicate that politically powerful groups are watching with great anticipation.
How colonialism shaped free trade agreements: the imposition of Western legal regimes (part 2/3)
25-May-2023 bilaterals.org
Colonialism resulted in the imposition of a legal trade and investment regime favourable to European colonial states and companies, which is still felt today.
NGOs urge EU not to ratify damaging trade agreement with the Mercosur block on back of new deforestation law
24-May-2023 Alianza Cero Deforestacion
50 environmental and human rights groups from around the world expressed grave concern that the EU will use its new deforestation regulation to ratify the trade deal with Mercosur.
Dutch bilateral investment treaties: 60 years of protecting multinationals
23-May-2023 Both Ends
Nowadays, the Netherlands has 75 bilateral investment treaties with countries all over the world, which mainly give multinationals a powerful instrument that has far-reaching consequences for people and the environment worldwide.
How colonialism shaped free trade agreements: the birth of modern international trade (part 1/3)
22-May-2023 bilaterals.org
The birth of modern international trade was not a natural phenomenon but it was imposed on societies.
An attack on democracy: new legal analysis on splitting of EU-Mercosur deal
19-May-2023 Seattle to Brussels Network
A new legal analysis lifts the lid on an attempt by the European Commission to “split” the EU-Mercosur trade deal, in order to approve the ‘trade’ part of the deal without the unanimous support of EU member states and without national ratification by parliaments throughout the EU.
Would the drafters of the AfCFTA investment protocol kowtow to the interests of only investors?
17-May-2023 bilaterals.org
The recently leaked investment protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area shows the investor-state dispute resolution will be set out after the adoption of the protocol.
Swimming against the tide
16-May-2023 IATP
Since the beginning of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, Mexico has experienced a dramatic deterioration in its ability to grow its own food.
The struggle of small-scale fishers in Indonesia
12-May-2023 Bilaterals.org
Indonesia is a country that is particularly active and aggressive in negotiating free trade and investment agreements. The food industry, notably fisheries, is often threatened by such agreements.
Solidarity, equality, cooperation and sustainable trade: an alternative to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement
10-May-2023 S2B Network
We firmly believe that the countries of the Mercosur and the EU need to improve and transform their relationship.
How the toxic EU-Mercosur deal will undermine Brazil’s climate & deforestation goals
26-Apr-2023 Friends of the Earth Europe
While the Amazon passes irreversible environmental tipping points and new toxic chemicals leave a trail of contamination, the European Union is actively signing away more of the planet and people in the lethal EU-Mercosur free trade agreement.
EU-Mercosur: Banned pesticides found on Brazilian limes in EU
21-Apr-2023 Greenpeace
A Greenpeace Germany study of Brazilian limes sold in the EU has found residues of several pesticides, some of them banned for use in Europe.
International preemption by “trade” agreement: Big Tech’s ploy to undermine privacy, AI accountability, and anti-monopoly policies
19-Apr-2023 Rethink Trade
The bottom-line is that the USMCA and related TPP digital rules that represent the agenda promoted by Big Tech interests must not become the model or starting text for future agreements.
Public services in the crosshairs
19-Apr-2023 TNI
The impacts of investment protection regimes on the public services sector in Latin America and the Caribbean.
UK membership in Pacific trade deal threatens Canadian climate action
7-Apr-2023 The Monitor
Canada should join Australia and New Zealand in neutralizing lopsided corporate protections in CPTPP.
US agenda revealed at IPEF talks in Bali
5-Apr-2023 AFTINET
The summaries of US inputs at the recent Bali round of negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) reveal US pressure of the other 13 states to adopt US standards.
How Clive Palmer is suing Australia for $300 billion with the help of an obscure legal clause (and Christian Porter)
4-Apr-2023 The Conversation
Australian business figure Clive Palmer is suing the Australian government for almost A$300 billion in an international tribunal, having lost a case against the Western Australian government he took all the way to the High Court.
Joining Pacific trade deal is ‘reckless gamble’, campaigners say
31-Mar-2023 Global Justice Now
Joining the Pacific trade deal is a reckless gamble by a government willing to sacrifice British farmers, workers and the planet in its desperation for a symbolic success.
EU digital trade rules: undermining attempts to rein in Big Tech
28-Mar-2023 The Left in the European Parliament
This report shows how Big Tech companies are working to constrain the ability of EU democratic bodies to regulate their activities in the public interest through “trade” agreements, which are binding and permanent.