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Across the board

This section contains news and analysis of sweeping developments that affect the overall push and pull towards FTAs and bilateral investment treaties. This means major trends relating to bilateralism, often with global consequences, and other cross-cutting issues. New developments arising from US politics, the WTO or South-South alliance-building, for instance, are often reported here as they tend to have systemic impacts.

last update: May 2012

D-8 preferential trade agreement targets $500 billion in intra-trade by 2030
18-Jun-2025     21st century chronicle
Amb. Isiaka Imam, Secretary-General, D-8, Organisation for Economic Cooperation, says the organisation is focusing on achieving a target of 500 billion dollars in intra-trade among member countries by 2030.
Small countries sit at nexus of tariff trade-offs
16-Apr-2025     Reuters
In response to Trump’s moves, Australian Prime Minister’s government is now trying to revive a free-trade agreement with the European Union and woo countries from Indonesia to India to the United Arab Emirates.
NZ says trans-Pacific, EU nations can defend free trade
10-Apr-2025     BSS News
New Zealand's prime minister proposed a new alliance to battle global export restrictions, enlisting members of a 12-nation trans-Pacific free trading agreement and the European Union.
Over 50 countries seek US trade talks after tariffs: Trump officials
7-Apr-2025     Al Jazeera
More than 50 countries have directly contacted the White House to initiate trade talks following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of wide-ranging punitive tariffs, administration officials have said.
Does Trump's return spell the end of free trade?
14-Mar-2025     Attac France & bilaterals.org
Donald Trump’s return to power and his fresh round of tariffs have sent further shockwaves through the neoliberal order that has shaped global trade since the 1990s. So does this mark the death of free trade?
bilaterals.org: 20 years supporting resistance to free trade agreements
17-Dec-2024     bilaterals.org
To mark our 20th anniversary, we gathered in October in Bandung, Indonesia, to reflect on our journey, the changes over these two decades and the challenges we face both politically and in our communications.
Trade Gone Mad: exposing the dark side of "Free Trade"
25-Nov-2024     Local Futures
The animation "Trade Gone Mad" sheds light on the destructive impact of corporate-driven global trade. It highlights how so-called "free trade" agreements, often negotiated behind closed doors, empower multinational corporations to prioritize profits over people and the planet.
A tsunami of trade agreements: Reflections on 20 years of resistance
12-Nov-2024     bilaterals.org
As trade justice activists, we must be at the forefront of collective organising and mobilising for a new trade system that addresses pressing global challenges.
Twenty years of bilaterals.org, twenty years of fighting FTAs
4-Nov-2024     bilaterals.org
When bilaterals.org was set up back in 2004, the world looked rather different. What has changed?
There are no free lunches in trade deals
13-Sep-2024     Foreign Policy
How to cut through the PR and understand an agreement.