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News from the movements

ExxonMobil sues the Netherlands over gas field closure
The multinational disagrees with the decision that gas production in the Dutch province of Groningen will be shut down early.
Scrap the UK-Colombia investment treaty: how corporate courts let UK companies undermine human rights and the environment
In October 2024, the Colombia-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty reaches the end of its initial ten-year term. The UK and Colombian governments now have the opportunity to work together to terminate the treaty.
The surge in ISDS damages paid to global corporations, mostly by poor countries
A UNCTAD note has highlighted the significant growth in damages in Investor-State Dispute Settlement. The average award size grew tenfold in the past three decades.
EU Court: Western Sahara tomatoes cannot be labelled as Moroccan
In its ruling on, 4 October 2024 the EU Court of Justice ruled that products from Western Sahara on the EU market cannot be labelled “from Morocco”.
BREAKING: EU Court ruling: occupied Western Sahara not part of EU-Morocco agreements
In its rulings on, 4 October 2024, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has concluded that the EU appeals were all rejected.
‘Mafia investments against Honduras’. New report exposes corporate demands after coup d’état
A new report, ’Mafia investments against Honduras’, examines the worrying situation in which the Central American country finds itself in the face of claims brought by transnational corporations before international arbitration tribunals.
Ecuadorian rights defenders
Women leaders engaged in dangerous efforts to protect rights and the environment in Ecuador will visit Canada next week to speak out against trade talks aimed at expanding and attracting Canadian investment in resource extraction projects in ecologically vulnerable regions.
The peasant women of La Via Campesina in Africa are saying NO to the WTO and the FTAs
Global resistance to free trade intensifies: International day of action against the WTO and free trade agreements
A new framework for trade based on food sovereignty
The current international trade order was established to support the expansion of transnational companies and to keep colonial powers in control of the world’s natural resources.
Farmers, food and freedom
How trade deals are undermining the right to seeds.
Day of action against the WTO and FTAs: Statement of organizations in Canada and the US
Organizations of La Via Campesina in Canada and the United State recommit ourselves to the struggle for food sovereignty here in North America and globally, in solidarity with our movement allies.
Serbia’s lithium gamble: Reviving Rio Tinto’s mine amidst protests and economic promises
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?
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
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
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
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!
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
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
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!
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.