bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

covid


To get out of the crisis exacerbated by Covid-19: more than a hundred organizations and networks in the Arab region are launching a campaign for debt cancellation and getting rid of "free trade" agreements.
To get out of the crisis exacerbated by Covid-19: more than a hundred organizations and networks in the Arab region are launching a campaign for debt cancellation and getting rid of "free trade" agreements.
Open letter to governments on ISDS and COVID-19
We urge you to take immediate action to ensure that the duty of governments to regulate in the public interest is safeguarded and put beyond the scope of ISDS claims.
Africa-wide trade deal will push ahead despite coronavirus wrath
Even if the pandemic continues into 2021, the African Continental Free Trade Area will move ahead, a top official says.
Preparing for the COVID aftermath
Arbitration cases due to COVID emergency measures would exacerbate the challenges that public budgets are already facing due to the need for stimulus measures and the difficulty in collecting government revenue.
Why we need a moratorium on investment disputes during COVID-19
We call for a moratorium on investor-state arbitration cases and clarity of legal principles to ensure that governments have the policy space to protect their citizenry and combat the epidemic.
Corporate lawsuits could devastate poor countries grappling with Covid-19
Wealthy corporations may use trade courts to keep public health measures from cutting into their profits.
Digital trade rules and Big Tech: Surrendering public good to private power
As tech giants emerge as the undisputed winners of the Covid-19 crisis, they continue to use free trade agreements to protect themselves from regulation.
Cashing in on the pandemic: How lawyers are preparing to sue states over COVID-19 measures
As governments take action to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and prevent economic collapse, they could face multi-million dollar lawsuits.
Exclusive: Countries to face a ‘wave’ of corporate lawsuits challenging emergency COVID-19 measures
Research claims top law firms are preparing to ‘cash in’ on the pandemic by helping corporations sue states for measures that have impaired profits.
Union calls for equal recognition for healthcare workers
The union and its allies also asked the government not to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as they view that the restriction of rights to access medicine under the deal would put the country’s public health system in danger.
Call for ISDS moratorium during COVID-19 crisis and response
We call on the world community for an immediate moratorium on all arbitration claims by private corporations against governments using international investment treaties.
Africa must not let disputes with foreign investors undermine its Covid-19 response
There is an imminent threat of claims arising from emergency measures, so countries should review how investor-state disputes are handled.
If the government doesn’t halt trade talks with Trump, it’s learned nothing from coronavirus
The US trade model is not only unpopular with the British public, but it will also make us more vulnerable to future pandemics.
Mexico says auto factories to reopen with virus safeguards
The announcement came three days after the US government launched a campaign to get Mexico to reopen plants, suggesting the supply chain of the North American free trade zone could be permanently affected.
Mexico eyes agreement to end virus-induced disruptions to US-Mexico supply chains
Lopez Obrador said the government was reviewing the matter in the context of the entry into force of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal due to replace the 1994 NAFTA.
Corporations prepare to sue over action to save lives as pandemic reveals trade flaws
Global companies are positioning themselves to use little-known rules in trade agreements to claim millions of dollars in compensation for restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
US pressures Mexico to reopen plants amid worker walkouts
The US pressed Mexico to reopen border assembly plants that are key to the US supply chain, as part of the North American free trade zone.
Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives
An open letter to Trade Ministries and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
US factories in Mexico are still open. As the coronavirus spreads, workers are dying
Maquiladoras which avoid most tariffs because their finished products are for export only, have boomed since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.
Pandemic profiteers: how foreign investors could make billions from crisis measures
Governments’ emergency actions in the wake of COVID-19 could prompt a wave of arbitration lawsuits for billions of dollars by multinational corporations and investment lawyers.