Trade deals can allow international corporations to trample over the rights of governments in the Global South. That is the message from the Colombian government, which describes the effect of such deals as a “bloodbath” for their national sovereignty.
To mark our 20th anniversary, we gathered in October in Bandung, Indonesia, to reflect on our journey, the changes over these two decades and the challenges we face both politically and in our communications.
In the annex to the trade and sustainable development chapter of the EU-Mercosur agreement, several provisions entail fundamental changes in how the EUDR will work in practice.
For the UK, entering into a trade deal with the GCC would fly in the face of public opinion, offer few projected benefits, and send a worrying message about the priorities of the UK’s trade policy when it comes to human rights and climate.
The deal reinforces the same pattern seen since the initial colonisation of Latin America, which is the pillaging of primary resources by mostly foreign interests that are then converted into higher-value industrial products to be sold for a monumental profit.
The new interpretative note on the investment chapter of the FTA seeks to avoid legal abuses and protect the sovereignty of both countries without affecting incentives for foreign investment.
A bipartisan group of US senators called on US Trade Representative to stop negotiations with Mexico, Canada and Colombia that they say would weaken investor protections in some US free trade deals during the Biden administration’s final days.
The negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and the UK are expected to resume in early February, after months of pause due to the general election in the UK, a senior official said.