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digital economy | e-commerce

Chinese owner of Nexperia demands $8 billion from Netherlands over government takeover
12-May-2026 NL Times
Wingtech, the Chinese parent of the Nijmegen chipmaker Nexperia, said it will commence international arbitration proceedings against the Netherlands under the Netherlands-China investment treaty.
US and others propose e-commerce pact as WTO deadlock deepens
7-May-2026 Reuters
The US and a group of countries are planning to press ahead with their own moratorium on e-commerce duties ‌if Brazil and Turkey continue to oppose an extension of a global deal at World Trade Organization talks on Wednesday, a draft document shows.
National security implications in ISDS vis-à-vis AI regulation
4-May-2026 White & Case
Technological advances create novel security risks, prompting States to adopt national security measures that restrict foreign investors in this space.
Resisting Big Tech empires (and their trade rules)
30-Apr-2026 bilaterals.org
A clear message emerged from a recent conference: digital trade rules are entrenching Big Tech’s power grab over the digital economy. Those rules must be resisted.
The IP laws that stop disenshittification
29-Apr-2026 Jacobin
Laws included in trade deals protect US companies’ rent extraction schemes and stop us from fixing or improving our own devices — from phones and tractors to insulin pumps. Repealing them will save billions and hit Trump’s donor class.
AfCFTA: Digital trade protocol and annexes (Jun 2025)
22-Apr-2026 AfCFTA Secretariat
China signal push to upgrade Switzerland FTA, expanding trade to services, digital sectors
21-Apr-2026 Investinglive
China pushes to upgrade Switzerland trade deal, expanding ties into services and digital economy.
How India’s new free trade agreement with the EU limits AI governance
20-Apr-2026 Tech Policy
The India–EU FTA’s formulation of source‑code and algorithmic provisions appears to narrow India’s policy authority, as it shifts the balance towards post‑incident enforcement and away from proactive oversight, at a time when India’s scale and diversity require the opposite.
‘Expect more pressure’: How the Trump administration is bullying the world on behalf of big tech
10-Apr-2026 Crikey
At least ten countries signed off deals or frameworks designed to benefit American tech companies in 2025.
The e-commerce plurilateral reveals the backdoor strategy to adopt JSIs
8-Apr-2026
Arguably, the most significant outcome from the World Trade Organization’s “reform” ministerial conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon in March 2026 was the adoption by a sub-group of 66 Members of a plurilateral agreement on electronic commerce.
Africa’s digital trade push requires 700 data centres, says AfCFTA chief
8-Apr-2026 Punch
Africa will need more than 700 data centres to support the digital trade architecture envisioned under the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA Secretary-General Wamkele Mene said.
UK and Ghana collaborate to build pioneering Neofingo digital trade finance corridor
4-Apr-2026 Joy Online
ODI Global, in partnership with government’s 24-Hour Economy Authority, the AfCFTA Secretariat, has announced the development of a network and protocol called Neofingo at a forum held simultaneously in London and Accra.
One year of Trump tariffs prove corporate profits always came before the public interest
3-Apr-2026 Common Dreams
The 2026 NTE Report makes it clear that the Trump administration’s primary motivation behind its trade policy is to protect the profits of big US companies.
Comparing the digital trade provisions in the new US trade deals
3-Apr-2026 International Economic Law and Policy Blog
Focus on certain digital trade provisions in the nine agreements for which we now have the full legal text.
MC14: JSI plurilateral on e-commerce concludes without US participation
30-Mar-2026 Third World Network
A large group comprising some 66 countries on 28 March announced the conclusion of their Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) “Declaration on Interim Arrangements for Agreement on Electronic Commerce”.
EU and CPTPP agree to progress with "historic" digital trade deal, Canada’s international trade minister says
30-Mar-2026 Reuters
The European Union and the parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership agreed on Friday to move ​forward with reaching a "historic" digital trade agreement between both ​trading blocs.
A tax moratorium to enable a foreign AI invasion
23-Mar-2026 The Hindu
The push for a permanent moratorium signals the US’s bid to dominate the AI-driven global economy.
The new containment doctrine: How the United States is using trade to stop digital regulation
20-Mar-2026 CSIS
Using tariff threats as leverage, the United States is transforming what has been a domestic regulatory choice into a negotiable trade concession, seeking to establish precedents that will shape digital governance negotiations for years.
ASEAN digital economy negotiators convene in Manila to advance landmark regional digital trade agreement
12-Mar-2026 PIA
The meetings brought together lead negotiators and legal experts from ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat to advance discussions on the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement.
Lee, Singapore PM agree to launch FTA upgrade talks, strengthen AI cooperation
12-Mar-2026 Yonhap News Agency
President Lee Jae Myung and Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade their countries’ free trade agreement (FTA) and step up cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) during summit talks.