ISDS Case Map
geopolitics
The Canadian prime minister is spearheading discussions between the EU and a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc after calling on middle powers to join forces.
The shift in globalisation is not just a bump in the road. It signals a deep transformation of the world economy, its political balances and its power relations.
Its conclusion has been driven in large part by shifting geopolitical pressures from Washington and Beijing, which have forced both Brussels and New Delhi to reassess their strategic positioning.
Trump's destructive foreign policy not only reveals the emptiness of the liberal 'rules-based order', but announces a new approach built on military might and open corporate power.
The free trade agreement between the European Union and India underscores the EU’s efforts to ink new global partnerships at a time when the Trump administration has rattled the region’s capitals which have long relied on a stable relationship with Washington on trade, defense and diplomacy.
Carney says Canada has no plans to pursue free trade agreement with China as Trump threatens tariffs
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country has no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China. He was responding to US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods.
Trump is using tariffs and trade threats to bully other countries in order to maintain US global power. Even though existing trade rules were shaped by US corporations, recently this hasn’t been enough to guarantee US dominance, so Trump is turning to brute force.
A big reason for signing a trade agreement is to get certainty on tariff levels, and if the U.S. can raise tariff levels above the bound rate for geopolitical reasons, that certainty is lost to some degree and the trade agreement is much less valuable.
India’s flurry of pacts signed with various countries may not boost our trade all that much, but these seem designed to act as an insurance policy against trade fragmentation caused by the policies of US President Donald Trump.
The US critical minerals deals highlight the deepening turn to soft-law instruments in economic diplomacy. But they also coexist with binding trade agreements.
