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  1. Negotiations

:: Across the board ::


This section contains news and analysis of sweeping developments that affect the overall push and pull towards FTAs and bilateral investment treaties. This means major trends relating to bilateralism, often with global consequences, and other cross-cutting issues. New developments arising from US politics, the WTO or South-South alliance-building, for instance, are often reported here as they tend to have systemic impacts.

last update: May 2012

They did deals with Trump to get lower tariffs. Now they are stuck.
23-Feb-2026     The New York Times
Countries that under the threat of tariffs made commitments like enormous investment pledges face the reality that they might have been better off waiting.
How China plans to dominate global trade long after Trump
19-Feb-2026     Reuters
China sees an opening to turn President Donald Trump's tariffs to its advantage by reshaping global trade in ways that would insulate its $19 trillion economy from US pressure far into the future.
Susan George – acclaimed political scientist and TNI’s honorary president – has passed away at the age of 91
19-Feb-2026     TNI
No one has done more to shape, energise, and inspire TNI over the decades – she has been our inspiration, our honorary leader, our intellectual soul, and our beloved friend. We will never see her like again.
Carney constructs a mega anti-Trump trade alliance
17-Feb-2026     Politico
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.
Where is globalisation headed?
31-Jan-2026    
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.
The law of the jungle
29-Jan-2026     Tribune
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.
Global civil society statement on Trump’s trade threats
21-Jan-2026     European Trade Justice Coalition
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.
Can "geopolitical" tariffs be dealt with through trade deals?
21-Jan-2026     International Economic Law and Policy Blog
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.
Webinar: Breaking down Trump's trade attacks & global solidarity efforts [updated with the recordings]
2-Dec-2025     OWINFS & ETJC
Join us in calling on governments to stop appeasing Trump. Learn how your work fits into this movement and how you can join us in pushing for resistance and creating a better world.
Era of free trade and investment is over, Canada’s PM tells Apec summit
3-Nov-2025     The Guardian
Mark Carney warns Asia-Pacific leaders global economy undergoing profound change, as China’s president mounts defence of free trade.