sovereignty | democracy

Chile - Civil society organizations: "Without impact studies, Congress cannot vote free trade agreements"

21-Aug-2018 Resumen

The Chamber of Deputies approved the request that the Government has to review in detail each and every treaty signed by Chile, as well as future agreements.

Secret RCEP trade deal fails international standards of transparency, experts warn

20-Jul-2018 Friends of the Earth International

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving 16 nations from Asia-Pacific will impact the lives of over three billion people, yet a new study reveals how the deal fails international standards of transparency and public engagement.

Secrecy in RCEP trade deal threatens Asian democracies

19-Jul-2018 Jakarta Post

With a global trade war looming and public faith in corporate globalization at an all-time low, secrecy in trade deals cannot be accepted. People have a right to know what is being negotiated in their name.

A globalisation for people, not business

5-Jun-2018 Social Europe

Globalisation is in crisis because of its almost totalitarian outreach to all areas of everyday life. People feel a loss of control, because their way of life is perceived as subject to trade requests solely for the benefit of globally acting firms.

Corporate lawyers hijack UN meeting, while civil society is sidelined

28-May-2018 Truthout

The takeaway from the UNCITRAL’s process for its so-called "reform" discussions is that lawyers making millions in ISDS cases are welcomed, while the voices of the millions of people whose lives are harmed by ISDS cases brought by multinational corporations are barely an afterthought.

Quiet on the set! The EU is negotiating trade deals...

17-Apr-2018 CEO

Following calls for openness and public participation, the European Commission now advertises its trade negotiations as transparent and inclusive. But crucial information about EU trade deals are still kept from citizens. Even member state governments regularly complain about being left in the dark. At the same time, corporations continue to call the shots on EU trade talks.

Solutions for a stalled NAFTA: Stop pushing so hard on IP, and release the text

12-Apr-2018 EFF

Although advances have been made in some chapters, reports suggest that virtually the whole of the agreement’s IP chapter remains up in the air.

Setting course for sustainable trade – a new trade agenda that serves people and the environment

11-Apr-2018 Friends of the Earth Europe

We urgently need a new trade regime which can help address global challenges and tackle problems like accelerating climate change, a broken agricultural model and loss of trust in democratic processes.

ISDS: The wild, wild west of international law and arbitration

5-Apr-2018 Curtis

I thought it would be both exciting and challenging to follow clients into this new area of investment claims practice. What I didn’t know was that I was entering the Wild Wild West of international practice.

The ‘new’ TPP and our shrinking democracy

26-Feb-2018 Gisborne Herald

Profit is king. People are the pawns, and the Government will seem to be in favour of supra-national conglomerates if it signs this “new” TPP inclusive of the ISDS.

Sacrificing sovereignty and human potential in the name of economic growth

15-Feb-2018 Politheor

Why are countries so gripped in their quest for economic growth that they are empowering multinational corporations at the expense of their citizens?

Towards a peoples charter on international trade agreements

30-Jan-2018 Parti Sosialis Malaysia

It is now time we open up the dialogue on the kind of trade agreements that we want to see in place.

The Tory trade bill would usher in the worst bits of TTIP – it must be stopped

8-Jan-2018 The Guardian

This legislation for post-Brexit Britain is not just bad law, it’s dangerous, allowing for deals without parliamentary scrutiny.

A declaration from North Africa: food sovereignty is a right

5-Jan-2018 CADTM

We stand against the plunder of peoples’ resources by multinationals and financial capital and against all forms of discrimination and racism.

Neoliberal Argentina bans NGOs from WTO summit in last-minute ’unprecedented’ move

1-Dec-2017 TeleSur

"The government may prevent us from coming to Buenos Aires, but they won’t stop us from mobilizing our local communities," said one organizer whose visa was denied.

A tale of two transparencies: why the EU and activists will always disagree over trade deal negotiations

20-Oct-2017 Tech Dirt

Activists are keen to see what is happening in detail throughout the negotiations, not just some top-level view at the start, or the initial textual proposals for each chapter, but nothing afterwards.

Ten principles for trade

12-Jun-2017 Greenpeace

The current global trade and investment regime imposes high social and environmental costs on people and planet.

EU court slams EU Commission for blocking anti-TTIP movement

11-May-2017 DW

The General Court of the European Union passed a ruling in support of public initiatives critical of EU legislation. The court said that movements like "Stop TTIP" could contribute to public debates on pressing issues.