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News from the movements

Serbia’s lithium gamble: Reviving Rio Tinto’s mine amidst protests and economic promises
12-Sep-2024 TNI
In 2021, Rio Tinto filed a notice of dispute related to the government announcement to cancel the Lithium project in the Jadar Valley under the UK-Serbia bilateral investment agreement.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): for whose benefit?
11-Sep-2024 bilaterals.org
This webinar, scheduled on Thursday 12 September 2024, aims is to collectively reflect on what does this trade deal mean for ordinary Africans in a time of deep climate, economic and food crises.
A portrait of transnational power in Mexico: the investment protection system and its consequences
9-Sep-2024 TNI
This report looks at Mexico’s investment protection regime and outlines its main consequences for the country.
NFUniversity: Colonial roots of modern free trade agreements
9-Sep-2024 NFU
This talk explored the colonial origins of modern international trade. Geopolitics, power relations, and corporate interests have shaped trade rules for over 500 years before it reached its current form.
An EU trade policy fit for the future
30-Aug-2024 ETJC
It is time to move on from a worn-out, broken model of trade policy and create a new approach to trade that is fit for the future.
International day of action against the WTO and free trade agreements: Call to action!
22-Aug-2024 La Vía Campesina
The 10th of September is recognized by La Via Campesina and its allies worldwide as the International Day of Action Against the World Trade Organization and Free Trade Agreements.
bilaterals.org podcast: Special economic zones & the African Continental Free Trade Area
21-Aug-2024 bilaterals.org & Public Services International
This podcast examines the controversial link between Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the African Continental Free Trade Area, which promotes the use of SEZs to further liberalise the economy, with potentially dramatic consequences for the people of Africa.
APEP should be used to eliminate ISDS, say members of Congress, US and Latin American civil society
23-Jul-2024 Public Citizen
Members of Congress, grassroots activists, and civil society organizations from the US and Latin America urged the United States to use the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) to undo the damage of decades of corporate-dominated trade policy.
Stop burdening people at the end of the term, Mr. President!
23-Jul-2024 Bilaterals.org
A total of 37 organizations and 29 people conveyed their urge to President Joko Widodo via open letter to stop negotiations between Indonesia - European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA). This demand was conveyed after Indonesia completed the 19th round of negotiations on 1-5 July 2024 behind closed doors.
TC Energy loses $15-billion NAFTA lawsuit against US
19-Jul-2024 The Monitor
The welcome decision shines a light on Canada’s flawed defence in similar investor-state case against Canada.
Dismissal of $15 billion NAFTA legacy case on Keystone XL pipeline is welcome, but billions in egregious claims still remain
17-Jul-2024 Public Citizen
The World Bank has dismissed Canadian oil company TC Energy’s $15 billion ISDS case against the US sought due to lack of jurisdiction.
Australian legal experts call for swift removal of ISDS
12-Jul-2024 AFTINET
62 Australian lawyers and legal scholars have issued an open letter urging the Australian government to swiftly implement its policy of excluding Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions from current and future trade and investment agreements.
I-EU CEPA negotiations hijack democratic rights and ignore potentional impacts on society
4-Jul-2024 Indonesia AIDS Coalition
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) and the Indonesia AIDS Coalition (IAC) criticized the I-EU CEPA, which hijacked the people’s rights to democracy while ignoring the negotiations’ wider impact. The I-EU CEPA negotiations lacked transparency, ignored public aspirations, and did not allow for meaningful participation from civil society groups.
Next steps on the USMCA corn case: What the panelists should ask
25-Jun-2024 IATP
This week the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute over Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn and glyphosate enters a new phase.
NAFTA at 30: The mother of all free trade agreements
13-Jun-2024 bilaterals.org & GRAIN
As the first free trade agreement in contemporary history, the North American Free Trade Agreement, turns 30, it’s a good time to ask why this particular treaty played such a watershed role in the history of the global regime of trade and investment.
The corporate colonization of Latin America
11-Jun-2024 Public Citizen
How Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) harms indigenous communities.
UN criticises EFTA for jeopardising the right to food
7-Jun-2024 Swiss Right to Seed Coalition
The member countries of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are jeopardising the right to food through free trade agreements with countries of the Global South.
Peoples of Mesoamerica in defence of seeds and maize
7-Jun-2024 GRAIN
This call for the defence of maize and all peasant seeds comes amid increasing pressure to impose the so-called UPOV laws through trade agreements and other neoliberal policies throughout the region.
Free trade frenzy: the hidden costs of South Asia’s economic gamble
6-Jun-2024 GRAIN
As debt pressures rise, South Asia’s economic strategies are increasingly revolving around FTAs. The frenzy, however, is not only reshaping the region’s trade dynamics, but also a wide array of national legal frameworks, from labour rights to agriculture policies.
Anticipating the 2026 CUSMA review
6-Jun-2024 TIRP
The mandatory six-year review of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement is still more than two years away, but TIRP researchers are ahead of the game.