Global Trade Watch

Congress Shows Signs of Life, Rebukes Trump’s Unpopular Tariffs - Public Citizen WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the first in a series of bills exercising congressional authority…

Full statement: www.citizen.org/news/congres...

The House is finally exercising congressional authority to end the “emergencies” that Trump declared to institute reckless tariffs.

Read our take ⬇️

Trump’s Goal for the WTO: Stopping Taxes on Big Tech - Public Citizen At the upcoming World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon, trade officials from every WTO country will…

Read our full analysis: www.citizen.org/article/trum...

Trump withdrew from global tax cooperation, bullied Canada to drop its digital services tax, and now wants the WTO to ban digital customs duties permanently.

The throughline? Protect U.S. Big Tech from regulation, at home and abroad.

Mapping Big Tech’s Global Deregulatory Demands for the Trump Trade Agenda | Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch Mapping Big Tech’s Global Deregulatory Demands for the Trump Trade Agenda January 2026 We previously outlined the Big Tech demands behind President Trump’s tariff negotiations, showing that over 100 d...

Check out our map: gtwaction.org/mapping-big-...

Trade associations and lobby groups representing tech giants, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook, among others, are behind an aggressive campaign to roll back global digital regulations.

The Impacts of U.S. Trade Policy on Migration in Latin America A new report documenting how corporate-dominated trade policies and inhumane immigration laws have consistently harmed workers at home and abroad.

Full report: www.citizen.org/article/expo...

Trump has continued to exploit the lie that immigrants are to blame for working people’s frustrations.

We know it’s BS, and we have solutions to transform the very global trade policies that have displaced and exploited workers ⬇️

Critical Minerals and Contested Sovereignty: Inside the U.S.–DRC Agreement - Public Citizen

More than 50 members of Congress are already raising alarms: www.citizen.org/article/crit...

The US-DRC minerals agreement was never debated in Congo’s parliament, and the US Congress wasn’t meaningfully consulted either.

That lack of transparency matters when a deal reshapes who controls some of the world’s most important minerals and on whose terms.

Critical Minerals Ministerial and “Action Plans” Raise Human Rights, Environmental Questions - Public Citizen WASHINGTON, D.C —  Today, Vice President JD Vance addressed representatives from 50 countries gathered at the Trump administration’s “Critical Minerals…

Read our full statement: www.citizen.org/news/critica...

The Trump admin recently announced “arrangements” and “action plans” on critical minerals. 

Like many Trump-era “deals,” it’s unclear what impact these will actually have. What is clear: Congress must assert its authority and demand transparency and accountability.

Trump Loves Tariffs, Just Not for the Rich and Well-Connected - Public Citizen Trump’s hand-picked lobbyists made millions helping big corporations get out of tariffs – while small businesses got crushed.

Read our report: www.citizen.org/article/trum...

Sounds veryyyy familiar.

Trump’s second term is shaping up exactly as we predicted: weakened watchdogs, closed-door decision-making, and exemptions tilted toward donors and loyalists — with workers and consumers paying the price.

Check it out: gtwaction.org/mapping-big-...

Big Tech isn’t just opposing “regulation,” it’s attacking specific laws worldwide.

🧑‍💻AI rules on biometric surveillance
🔐Data protection laws safeguarding personal data
⚖️Antitrust regulations promoting competition

WTO Ruling Against Biden-Era Clean Energy Policies Undermines Climate Action and the Multilateral System - Public Citizen WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled that the Biden-era clean energy tax credits provided under…

WTO Ruling Against Biden-Era Clean Energy Policies Undermines Climate Action and the Multilateral System

www.citizen.org/news/wto-rul...

"Today’s WTO ruling puts into sharp relief that the existing rules of the global economy are not fit for purpose to address the urgent crises facing our world — from catastrophic climate change to growing authoritarianism."

Read the full statement ⬇️

BREAKING - new deal with Guatemala also contains harmful rules that give a handful of tech CEOs even more power over our lives.

Updated statement at the same link below.

El nuevo acuerdo comercial de Trump con El Salvador es el tercer acuerdo de este tipo que incluye numerosas concesiones a las grandes empresas tecnológicas y otros intereses corporativos.

Lee la opinión de Melinda St. Louis’ en español al mismo enlace ⬆️

Trade Deal With El Salvador is Another Gift for Tech CEOs - Public Citizen Washington, D.C. — Today, the Trump administration released a new “Agreement on Reciprocal Trade” (ART) with El Salvador. This is…

Full statement: www.citizen.org/news/trade-d...

Trump’s new trade deal with El Salvador is the third such agreement to have several handouts to Big Tech and other corporate interests.

Read our Director, Melinda St. Louis’, take ⬇️

Read Mark Carney's full speech on middle powers navigating a rapidly changing world | CBC News Read the full text of Prime Minister Mark Carney's speech about a shakeup of the global order and role of middle powers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Canada’s PM Mark Carney admits the truth: global trade rules were unfair by design.

Check out the whole speech here:
www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Sovereignty on Trial: Ecuador, the UAE, and the Curse of Corporate Courts Ecuador’s government is defying voters and its Constitution by reviving corporate arbitration through a new UAE treaty.

Read more from @ceprdc.bsky.social's @mariorosorioh.bsky.social and Pedro Labayen Herrera

cepr.net/publications...

Ecuador says NO to corporate courts, but its leaders are pushing to say yes anyway.

ISDS isn’t “investment protection,” it's a tool to shield mining, oil, and other corporations from accountability.

Critical Minerals and Contested Sovereignty: Inside the U.S.–DRC Agreement - Public Citizen

Read more: www.citizen.org/article/crit...

Armed groups have killed thousands and displaced millions in eastern Congo, violence driven in part by competition over cobalt and other minerals.

The US response? Lock in preferential access to those same resources.

Critical Minerals and Contested Sovereignty: Inside the U.S.–DRC Agreement - Public Citizen

www.citizen.org/article/crit...

Trump claims to have brought peace to the DRC, but the violence continues. 

His “peace deal” gives US corporations special tax breaks and rights to mining sites.

Today, Congress will discuss Trump’s deals with DR Congo. 

Here’s what to know about his neo-colonial grab for the Congo’s  “critical minerals.”

@houseforeign.bsky.social