One month ago, we joined nearly 100 orgs to urge Sec. Rubio to reject this shameful negotiating tactic.
This is not the way to go about it. Full stop.
tradejusticeedfund.org/secretary-of...
The State Dept’s negotiating tactic to hold Zambia’s HIV funding to demand access to their critical minerals was so vile that the chief science officer at our global HIV/AIDS program quit and called it “a deal he could not stand by.”
Through ISDS, corporations can bypass domestic courts and go straight to international tribunals staffed by corporate lawyers.
The outcome? Taxpayers on the hook, and governments pressured to roll back policies that protect people.
Marco Rubio’s alleged threat to hold Zambia's HIV funding captive in exchange for mineral access is beyond deplorable.
Thanks to @shaheen.senate.gov @coons.senate.gov, and @schatz.bsky.social for sounding the alarm.
❌ Extra years of corporate control with no competition.
❌Long delays before affordable versions can hit shelves.
Read more: www.citizen.org/article/trum...
The U.S.-Argentina deal is the first to explicitly bake a Big Pharma "hit list" into a binding agreement.
The result is killing rules that block:
❌ Renewing patents for tiny changes to old drugs used to keep prices high.
To promote the interests of Big Pharma and Big Ag, Trump’s “special book” globally attacks:
💊Drug pricing regulations
🍴Restrictions on the import of genetically engineered food
🍼Safety and reporting regulations on infant formula
🐛Regulation of pesticides
Read which other climate and environmental protections are being attacked: www.citizen.org/article/trum...
Trump’s “special book” impacts our planet on a global scale, too.
🌳Canada’s Zero Plastic Waste Agenda
🥤UAE’s ban on single use styrofoam products
🛍️Côte d’Ivoire’s regulations on plastic bags
It’s all being attacked.
With AI quickly becoming embedded into nearly every aspect of our lives, Trump’s “special book” puts a target on countries attempting to regulate the development and deployment of AI systems to mitigate potential harms.
All to protect Big Tech’s profits at the expense of the public.
While the urgency of climate change demands bold action at all levels, this year’s NTE report doubles down on the Trump admin’s climate hostility.
Instead of learning from other countries, it attacks other countries' climate laws on behalf of polluting industries.
Trump’s unacceptable demands at the WTO on behalf of Big Tech blew up the meeting and, ironically, means that countries now have the space to tax imports of digital goods.
On the one-year anniversary of “Liberation Day,” Trump’s 2026 update of his “special book” doubles down on corporate hit list targeting of critical public interest regulations.
Environmental protection, public health, the digital economy, and more are all on the chopping block.
Big Tech, buoyed by the Trump admin, has targeted hundreds of digital regulations in more than 60 jurisdictions worldwide.
Thanks to @warren.senate.gov for raising the alarm in her recent letter!
“[Trade minister’s] stale statement on climate notably snubbed civil society by once again calling for more engagement with only the very corporations that created today’s conditions.”
Victor Menotti, Demand Climate Justice
“The WTO’s ‘progress’ on gender is a lie. ‘Enhancing women’s access to trade’ isn’t empowerment — it’s inclusive neoliberalism.”
Arie Kurniawaty, Puanifesto Collective
“MC14 has sidelined Africa’s development agenda.”
Jane Nalunga, SEATINI
“That proposed Agreement...is a mask for foreign investors to control African economies that are still so dependent on raw materials and other developing countries’ economies as well.”
Ranja Sengupta, Third World Network-Africa
“Africa and other LDCs cannot be asked to open their markets while their farmers compete against heavily subsidized systems.”
Ekane Nkwelle, Green Development Advocates (GDA), Cameroon
“While the talks continue, they remain gatekept from us, and as expected, our voices and concerns continue to be excluded and ignored.”
Terence Repelente, World Forum of Fisher Peoples
“This isn’t just about digital trade – it’s an attempt to lock in global inequality.”
Rahmat Maulana Sidik, Indonesia for Global Justice
“The WTO’s crisis is not an accident. It is the predictable result of a system designed to serve corporate interests.”
Fernando Hernandez, @bothends.bsky.social
At this year’s WTO ministerial, civil society voices were sidelined, shut out, and stripped of meaningful participation in decisions that directly affect their communities.
After the meeting ended in chaos, here are some of their responses:
