Free trade agreements

New UN report calls for transformation in agriculture

Transformative changes are needed in our food, agriculture and trade systems in order to increase diversity on farms, reduce our use of fertilizer and other inputs, support small-scale farmers and create strong local food systems. That’s the conclusion of a remarkable new publication from the U.N.

Tar sands a dirty outcome of free trade failures

As controversy over TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline has captured most of America’s attention, Minnesotans have been dealing with a different pipeline carrying tar sands bitumen to the United States. On July 17, 2013, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) granted Enbridge, L.P.

The Road to Bali: The WTO’s Ninth Ministerial

It’s increasingly difficult to explain to anyone why multilateral trade talks–once so high on the international policy agenda—are still worth our time and attention. Such attention as international trade garners has moved on to the regional and plurilateral deals, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the talks between the U.S. and the E.U.

Lessons on globalization from Colombia’s uprising

Last week more than 200,000 Colombians converged on Bogota for a nationwide strike to protest free trade, privatization and poverty. According to Common Dreams, the strike began as a protest by campesinos and spread to encompass teachers, miners and other sectors of society.

Workers Speak Out About the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)

This video presents a message from workers across the Pacific Rim about the potential negative consequences of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade and globalization agreement among 12 countries (Australia, Brunei-Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam).

Big Meat imitates Big Tobacco in fighting the public’s right to know

Eight meatpacking industry groups recently sued to stop implementation of the popular Country of Origin Label (COOL) law (sup

Trade rules versus sustainability

As two of the largest free trade agreements (TTIP and TPP) in history are being negotiated, free trade agreements like these will become more e

Upping the ante in the TTIP: Let’s add financial services and call your bluff

The launch of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations presents a new challenge to commodity and financial market reform. Those reforms, codified in the U.S.

Biotech industry moves toward “transparency” while pulling the curtain over trade agreements

Earlier this week, Andrew Pollack reported in the New York Times that biotech companies like Monsanto, Dupont and Dow Chemical announced through an industry association that they would be more transparent with the public about the chemicals and genetically modified