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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

The end of hyper-globalisation, resurgent imperialism and the prospects for genuine transformation
15-Jun-2026    
Failure to address the causes of the crisis in contemporary capitalism will force communities back on their own resources. It is not a battle we can wait another of decades to address, while our governments continue to ride the free trade bicycles over the cliff.
Trump’s deals extort trade partners for mining company profits. There is a better way
12-Jun-2026     Earth Works
New mineral trade “deals” that the Trump administration is pushing are extortion, not foreign policy. A deal being considered between Zambia and the US that would make lifesaving medical aid contingent on access to minerals is just the latest in a series of these exploitative deals, including Indonesia, Rwanda, and the DRC.
Rethinking global trade in a time of geopolitical tensions
24-Apr-2026     Nyeleni
Countries and social movements are rising to demand a renewal of genuine multilateralism—one based on cooperation rather than oppression, and on participatory democracy rather than opaque representation.
International resistance to Trump trade deals
25-Mar-2026     Public Citizen
Thousands of farmers, labor organizers, healthcare workers, faith leaders, economists, climate experts, government officials, and more from across the world are urging their governments to resist US imperialism through trade deals.
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.

Referenced sites

Third World Network

TWN's website is a good source of information and analysis about what's happening within the multilateral trade system (WTO, UNCTAD, G77, etc).

WorldTradeLaw.net

WorldTradeLaw.net offers a free library of current trade news and resources; a database of dispute settlement tables and statistics; and a user-friendly sear...