bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo
  1. Key issues

Corporate interests

Behind every free trade and investment agreement lies a set of corporate interests. Just as they have greatly influenced the shape, scope and contents of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, so too are transnational corporations (TNCs), sectoral industry coalitions and lobby groups mobilizing around specific bilateral trade and investment negotiations, to push even further than they were able to get at the WTO.

“Bilateral and regional FTAs …are formalized manifestations of where our respective private sectors have taken us…it is really business and government moving in tandem,” explained Susan Schwab, former US Trade Representative in 2006.

TNCs, whether acting individually or as part of industry coalitions such as the US Council on International Business (USCIB), the Emergency Committee for International Trade, the Coalition of Service Industries (US), BusinessEurope, the European Services Forum (EU) or Nippon Keidanren (Japan), are organized, aggressive and influential in their demands for specific FTAs. The comprehensiveness of most free trade and investment agreements means that there are many cross-cutting issues as well as separate chapters and provisions in these agreements which serve to shape policy regimes in the interests of TNCs.

last update: May 2012
photo: Mehr Demokratie e.V.

US ranchers saddle up for trade battle with Washington
22-Mar-2017 BBC
President Trump’s promise to renegotiate Nafta and possibly place tariffs on Mexico or other US trading partners has the beef industry worried. The industry is already reeling from the loss of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Non-tariff barriers in agriculture and food trade in APEC: Business perspectives on impacts and solutions
3-Feb-2017 ABAC
A report commissioned by the APEC Business Advisory Council, based on interviews with four hundred business people & others, argues for harmonising food standards and labelling across Asia.
Fonterra welcomes new trade talks with Sri Lanka
23-Jan-2017 Dairy News
Fonterra has welcomed the announcement that New Zealand and Sri Lanka will progress discussions on new trade and investment opportunities.
Fonterra poised for significant growth in Korean market
18-Jan-2017 New Food
As New Zealand marks the one-year anniversary of its Free Trade Agreement with South Korea, Fonterra Co-operative Group is gearing up to take advantage of huge potential for its dairy products there, particularly cheese.
Secret free trade talks concern business
17-Oct-2016 AAP
Free trade deals need to be better analysed and assessed before Australia agrees to them, the nation’s largest business group has told a parliamentary inquiry.
Why the Panama Papers should be a US election issue
6-Apr-2016 The Guardian
"Panama is a world leader when it comes to allowing large corporations to evade US taxes. And the Panama free trade agreement would make this bad situation much worse," Sanders warned in 2011.
Australian food labelling laws: changes and complexities for foreign trade
28-Aug-2015 Holding Redlich
Changes to Australian food labelling laws provide consumers with an increased understanding of the origin of their food. The challenge Australia faces is to ensure compliance with foreign investment trade agreements.
How regional trade agreements can spark a fight over Feta cheese
26-Aug-2015 Fortune
While the European Union and Canada agree that Feta cheese must come from Greece, the deal underscores the problems with regional trade deals not giving other countries a say.
Corporate lobbying expense jumps as US trade debate rages
24-Jul-2015 Reuters
Washington lobbying by companies and groups involved in global trade boomed in the past nine months, records show, as Congress debated a landmark trade pact proposed by President Barack Obama, the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Time to challenge the influence of big business in EU policy making
21-Jul-2015 The Parliament Magazine
The EU’s well-oiled revolving doors are keeping corporate lobbying in the TTIP driving seat, argue Vicky Cann and David Lundy