Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach

In this episode of Rethinking Trade: Did the dangerous de minimis trade loophole finally get closed for goods from China on May 2? Woohoo – tariff-dodging is now forbidden. But the Trump administration's wavier of a longstanding customs enforcement rule might make the change harder to enforce.   Lori will explain what it means for the import inspectionsneeded to catch fentanyl-laced fake pills and why we now need the administration to publish importer requirements and close down the loophole for imports from other countries.   

Lori Wallach breaks down the confusion, the consequences, and what's coming next on the Trump administration's actions on China, the 90-day pause, and more.

Confused about the tariffs that just went into effect?It's hard not to be, given how they are being discussed in the media. But before we all conclude the sky is falling, please listen to the latest episode of our Rethinking Trade podcast.(And yes, we're back from hiatus!)Lori covers just what we need to know about the 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the additional 20% tariffs onChina, and Trump's reversal on allowing de minimis shipments from China, Mexico and Canada to evade these very tariffs as well as inspection.And she explains how all of this could impact you... even as things keep changing. 

This new episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast is a little different. It's about tariffs, an issue that's critical to get smart about now… At a recent live panel with Congressmembers Debbie Dingell (D-Mich) and Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and our labor friends, Lori led a discussion about why much of the conventional wisdom on tariffs is wrong.   Like, if you are for enforceable labor standards in trade agreements or climate Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms, you are FOR tariffs.   And tariffs do NOT necessarily increase consumer prices. But price-gouging corporations like to use tariffs as an excuse to raise prices. And, yup, that story you hear over and over on tariff raising washing machine prices is wrong.

This new Rethinking Trade podcast episode is not a break from election anxiety, but can help explain the current situation…     Lori talks with Dan Kaufman about his recent New York Times Magazine story, "How NAFTA Broke American Politics." It examines the long-lasting impacts of the trade agreement on U.S. communities and politics nationwide.    Lori and Dan do a deep dive into Kaufman's recent October article. Listen now for conversation about the human and political cost of NAFTA, particularly in Wisconsin, and the broader impact on American workers and our politics.    Dan Kaufman is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and author of the acclaimed book The Fall of Wisconsin about the labor revolution spurred by ring attacks on union rights there. 

The imitable Zephyr Teachout wrote a fantastic piece that everyone seems to be reading about why tariffs and the trade issue play such an outsized role in elections and how Trump has set a tariff trap to try to ensnare the Democrats. In our latest episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast, Lori Wallach sits down with the renowned Fordham law professor. The discussion is especially interesting because Zephyr ran for Congress in a swing district in 2016 and saw her lead — along with Hillary Clinton's — disappear as Trump realized the power of the trade attack. Even if you don't have time to read the piece (and you should, and we have it on our website) this short, but powerful conversation is fascinating.

In this episode of Rethinking Trade, Lori Wallach breaks down the facts about tariffs—how they work, who pays them, and their impact on consumer prices. With tariffs back in the news, Lori explains the difference between targeted tariffs and across the board tariffs. Tune in NOW to get the full picture.

Rapacious European corporations were top users of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals. For decades, they extracted billions from taxpayers worldwide, attacking local laws and suing governments before ISDS tribunals of three corporate attorneys.   So, it was big news when the European Union recently exited one of the world's largest ISDS agreements -- the Energy Charter Treaty.   In the latest episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast, Lori Wallach is joined by two people who know the inside story: Cecilia Olivet, advisor to the Left Group in the European Parliament, and Fabian Flues, of the German-based organization Powershift. Here's a hint: When European domestic climate policies got ISDS attacked, the Dutch, German and other ISDS-booster governments had to shell out billions. And climate activists turned up the, um, heat. Nothing like being on the receiving end of ISDS – and domestic grassroots campaigns - to change opinions…

Did you know that states across the country are taking steps right now to regulate artificial intelligence (AI), protect kids' online safety, guarantee us the right to repair our phones, cars and other stuff, as well as safeguard data privacy?   But this progress could soon be wiped out thanks to Big Tech's stealthy "digital trade" agenda.   In the latest episode of our Rethinking Trade podcast, our colleagues ⁠Daniel Rangel ⁠and ⁠Katie Hettinga ⁠explain how more than 100 state-level tech bills could be preempted by international trade rules being pushed by Big Tech lobbyists.   Katie and Daniel spent months researching how these hidden provisions could undo the vital protections being enacted by state lawmakers, and have now put this information at your fingertips. Check out the tracker at www.rethinktrade.org/digitaltrade.

It was a busy Friday on Capitol Hill, as the Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on digital trade. If you haven't heard about "digital trade", the name that Big Tech lobbyists have given to a backdoor to try and tie the hands of Congress and regulators to evade privacy requirements/anti-discrimination online rules and shut down AI oversight, this podcast is for you. Don't forget to also read our international preemption paper for further background, and stay tuned for our forthcoming podcast on our states tracker, which goes into Big Tech's digital trade agenda at the state level.

In this special breaking news episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast, Lori Wallach explains today's White House actions on the #deminimis loophole. Remember: please visit our previous episodes on the de minimis loophole to understand just how e-commerce platforms like #Shein and #Temu are exploiting the loophole, and what it means for you.

How many times has your phone, car, or whatever broken and you or your local repair shop can't get the part or the software update to fix it? You're told the only options are to pay an obscene amount to a dealer or manufacturer, or prematurely replace the item.People in states across the country are fighting back by enacting “right to repair” laws. But corporate lobbyists hope to rig trade agreements with rules that forbid access to the information that we need to fix our stuff.Join Lori Wallach and special guest Nathan Proctor, Senior Director of the Campaign for Right to Repair at PIRG, as they examine the right to repair and how trade deals could undermine it. Learn how the digitalization of everything gave companies new ways to monopolize who can fix stuff. Nathan explains how we can restore these basic rights Americans have long had.  Lori reveals how companies are trying to lock in new corporate powers by slipping vague and non-trade-related rules into “trade” deals.

Hello, friends! We've got a new podcast episode and it's a bit different!A veritable OG trade crew got together for a kick-ass discussion on "A New Trade Policy to Break Up Corporate Power” at our recent Anti-Monopoly Summit. How OG? The discussion is led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) the House Trade Working Groups chair (and House Approps Ranking Member!) and features Thea Lee (Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, Department of Labor) and Scott Paul (President, Alliance for American Manufacturing) and our own Lori Wallach, Director, AELP's Rethink Trade. These folks first met battling against NAFTA in 1992! They have unique insights into how decades of neoliberal hyperglobalization concentrated power among a few dominant corporations and undermined workers, small businesses, and our national resilience and security.But perhaps the best part is that they discuss how trade policy tools—tariffs, conditioning market access on labor and other standards, supply management instruments, and more— can create industrial policy that curbs corporate power and empowers workers and smaller businesses. After hearing the discussion, it will be crystal clear why replacing pro-monopoly trade rules is critical to enhancing economic justice, our economic resilience and security and battle climate chaos. Listen now!

In this special breaking news episode of Rethinking Trade, Lori Wallach breaks down President Biden's new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and solar panels. Tune in to understand the implications of these tariffs, and the rationale behind them. Spoiler: these measures are crucial for combating unfair trade practices and ensuring supply chain resilience.

Our latest Rethinking Trade podcast episode is out now, and it's a special one. Lori Wallach sits down with Arthur Stamoulis, the Executive Director of Citizens Trade Campaign and Trade Justice Education Fund, to talk the past, present, and future of the trade justice movement in the United States. Lori and Arthur take us on a speedy tour through the last 30 years of the U.S. fight for fair trade policies and the evolution of the Biden administration's push for worker-centered trade agreements. Whether trade and climate sanity, unsafe and fake de minimis imports, forced labor goods, or geopolitics has newly brought you to the debate, or you're a NAFTA veteran, this episode offers new information, including on where go from here.   Spoiler alert: Arthur and the diverse Citizens Trade coalition has accomplished a ton and is ready for more!

In our latest breaking news segment for Rethinking Trade, Lori Wallach discusses the latest developments on Capitol Hill. De minimis is a trade loophole that we've discussed often on the podcast, and why it's important to close it. But what happened in the House Ways and Means markup, and to Rep. Blumenauer's bipartisan de minimis bill? Lori gives the blow-by-blow.

BREAKING NEWS: China's WTO Complaint Against the U.S. on Electric-Vehicle Subsidies. Lori gives background, and tells you what it means.

In our latest episode of Rethinking Trade, we're talking about the major trade event of the year -- the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).It's a major global biennial meeting where cabinet-level officials, like U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, get together to set the agenda for the international  trade and commerce body.Rethink Trade Research Director Daniel Rangel was on the scene in Abu Dhabi. In this episode he dissects the outcomes (or lack thereof!) at the conference. Lori and Daniel explore the implications for the WTO itself as well as fisheries stocks, anti-hunger programs, and much more. You also don't want to miss how the WTO Director-General's agenda-setting efforts impacted the negotiations.

Tariffs are in the news again! Why does that term generate such vitriol from some quarters and joy from others?! This week, we explore that question with Scott Paul, the President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.  Scott and host Lori Wallach discuss how increasingly Democrats and Republicans alike now view tariffs as just another policy tool. For most of U.S. history, this was the American perspective. Tariffs - charges collected at the border on imported goods - were the main source of government revenue when the country was founded.   It seemed useful to unpack what tariffs are and who is generating the negative hype about them given the recent wave of news stories attacking the very concept. Spoiler alert: Tariffs are not a scary, dangerous thing lurking in your economy in the middle of the night!

Our latest episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast offers an urgent update about the de minimis loophole that we first discussed in 2022. It has gotten much worse. E-commerce sites like Amazon, Shein and Temu use this loophole to skirt U.S. Customs and safety inspections and dodge all taxes and trade-cheating enforcement sanctions. Uyghur forced-labor products slip in and fake and dangerous goods too. The loophole is also increasingly being used by criminals to deliver illegal drugs with tragic consequences wracking families nationwide. Our special guest this week is one of the nation's leading experts on this dangerous scam. Kim Glas, a fighter for fair trade for decades from her roles in Congress, the Obama administration and a labor-environmental group is now president of the National Council of Textile Organization. She has all of the inside information and a strategy of how we can end the de minimis scam once and for all.

In our latest episode, we have two very special guests - voices you will know - talking about a corporate trade power tool that definitely should be on the “out with the old” list! We're talking about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and its implications for our economies and democracies. First, a quick refresher:   What is ISDS?  ISDS grants foreign investors special rights and privileges, allowing them to sue governments outside of domestic courts. These suits often result in staggering compensations for corporations, all while undermining public policies.   ISDS has to go.    That's why we teamed up with Nobel-winning economist Prof. Joseph Stiglitz and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), our guests on this podcast, to release a paper that we co authored with experts from Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment and the Center for the Advancement of the Rule of Law in the Americas at Georgetown University Law Center, about how we can exit out of ISDS in the Americas. 

Welcome back to the Rethinking Trade podcast. Today we bring you the second half of our conversation with Suresh Venkatasubramanian. Suresh co-authored the Biden administration's Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, and is a leading national expert on AI oversight. With the imminent Biden Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence setting binding U.S. AI policy, there's never been a better time to get smart on this technology that impacts our lives. Today in part two, we dive deeper into the AI landscape and uncover a potential landmine: Big Tech's plans to rig trade agreements with "digital trade" rules that could derail AI accountability and oversight. (If you missed Part One of our special two-part series on AI, you can hear it here.)Lori Wallach and Daniel Rangel chat with Suresh Venkatasubramanian, who is now with Brown University after serving as Assistant Director for Science and Justice in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Daniel joins Lori in this discussion because he just authored an interesting that unpacks the specific ways AI accountability could be undermined if Big Tech interests get their way in trade negotiations. Daniel's report is super accessible, which is good because Big Tech's digital trade ploy is very sneaky. Please give Daniel's report a read after you listen to this two-part series!

Greetings from DC!   OK, hope all you 2001: A Space Odyssey fans got a chuckle and no HAL9000 is not joining this edition of the podcast! We have a much better guest, Suresh Venkatasubramanian who co-authored the Biden administration's Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.   We've all seen Artificial Intelligence or "AI" making headlines recently, and it's raising critical questions:   * How will AI impact our daily lives?    * And just how do we regulate it to limit what seems like serious risks? * How do we make sure Big Tech interests do not use “digital trade” agreements to pre-empt AI accountability?   Join us for Part One of a special two-part Rethinking Trade series on AI, where we delve into these pressing issues. In this episode, Rethink Trade's Lori Wallach and Daniel Rangel engage in a discussion with Professor Suresh Venkatasubramanian who is now with Brown University after serving as Assistant Director for Science and Justice in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy   Together, we explore what AI actually is, its  real-world applications, how it is affecting us right NOW, and how governments can help limit its threats and maximize its benefits. In Part 1 of this fascinating conversation with Suresh, you'll gain a deeper understanding of what AI is and how it could shape our future.

Once you've finished listening to our new episode with Larry Cohen, check out this mini-episode as he discusses the UAW strike. ----- We're thrilled to present our latest episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast. Lori is joined by Larry Cohen, former President of the Communication Workers of America, for a guided tour of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. Spoiler alert: There's a lot more about this strike and how it could impact all of us than most of us know.   Larry brings his decades of experience building worker power and broad knowledge of labor history to discuss: ·      The big issues not gaining headlines, like how the strike could broadly shape U.S. workers' fate in the future green economy, ·      The role this strike plays in the arc of U.S. workers struggles, ·      Where we need to go from here, including what we need to push Congress to do.   Larry's knowledge and experience makes this conversation a must-listen for anyone interested in a fair economy and social justice.

We're thrilled to present our latest episode of the Rethinking Trade podcast. Lori is joined by Larry Cohen, former President of the Communication Workers of America, for a guided tour of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike. (Spoiler alert: There's a lot more about this strike and how it could impact all of us than most of us know!) Larry brings his decades of experience building worker power and broad knowledge of labor history to discuss: ·     The big issues not gaining headlines, like how the strike could broadly shape U.S. workers' fate in the future green economy, ·     The role this strike plays in the arc of U.S. workers struggles, ·     Where we need to go from here, including what we need to push Congress to do.   Larry's knowledge and experience makes this conversation a must-listen for anyone interested in a fair economy and social justice.

The U.S. anti-monopoly trial of the century with the Justice Department taking on Google started yesterday a few blocks away in DC. Excellent! But how is it that in Europe Google already has faced $5 billion in fines for the same domineering abuses and already a year ago lost its appeal of that judgment?    The  latest episode of Rethinking Trade answers that mystery. Our guests unpack the specific policies safeguarding Europeans' privacy, busting Big Tech monopolies, and banning the most risky uses if AI. Yup, all of the policies Big Tech has managed to evade here so far…  We're joined by:  Calli Schroeder, Senior Counsel and Global Privacy Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center Jesse Lehrich, Co-Founder of Accountable Tech Calli and Jesse also have some great ideas about what we can do to secure some of the same safeguards. And how does this connect with trade, you ask? ICYMI, in past episodes we've exposed how the current favorite strategy of Big Tech lobbyists trying to kill the EU's policies and evade any oversight here is to claim that these policies are illegal trade barriers.  It's confusing because they say that, but are also trying to get new rules negotiated in Asian and global trade agreements that actually would ban such policies. And also somehow if they do not get their way, China will benefit. Yup, it makes no sense. But that's the line. And its a fight that is heating up right now. If nothing else, we promise if you listen you will know what all the EU acronyms you hear in the news mean - GDPR, DSA, DMA - oh my!

If you thought the air travel fiasco could not get worse, consider the scary news that airlines are offshoring the maintenance work needed to keep planes safe. It's the same greedy cost-cutting behind the outdated computer systems and gutted airline staffing that is causing the epic air travel meltdowns upending millions of peoples' lives. In the race-to-the-bottom offshore aircraft maintenance facilities in El Salvador, Singapore, China, and Brazil mechanics' special aircraft certifications, security and background checks, and drug testing is waived. And of course there are no FAA inspectors doing spot checks. Just like with the flight schedule Hell, the Department of Transportation is letting the airlines get away with it. Experts say it's just a matter of time before there is a horrific incident. In this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach, we are joined by the two people in the country who know the most about this threat. William McGee, Senior Fellow for Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, is America's leading aviation consumer safety and rights expert with 22 years at Consumer Reports. He's a former FAA licensed aircraft dispatcher. Gary Peterson is the Vice of the Transport Workers Union and a certified Airframe and Powerplant aviation mechanic by trade. He is Executive Director to the International President and former Air Division Director at the union. Gary worked for decades for American Airlines leading the teams who safety inspect and rebuild planes. He also served as crew chief doing maintenance on aircraft in the Air Force. Gary, Bill and Lori talk about the lunacy of offshoring aircraft safety inspection and maintanace lunatic practice has been allowed and how to fix the problem now.

Shock waves were sent through Washington, D.C.'s many trade wonks when the U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission gave a unanimous bipartisan recommendation that Congress consider ending China's Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). Opponents of China PNTR were trashed as idiots, protectionists and doom mongers during a brutal 2000 U.S. national debate about China's trade status and entry into the World Trade Organization. Now 22 years later, those opponents' concerns proved not only to be right, but understated. But its a rarity in Washington to have high-level commissioners half appointed by the GOP while Democratic leadership AGREE to call for the reversal of a major policy mistake. “Hallelujah!” was the response from a labor leader receiving the news, while a small business CEO emailed us back an “Amen!” Whether or not Congress will follow the recommendation remains to be seen. But the fact that the U.S.-China trade debate has come to this juncture is both shocking, and based on the outcomes of the last 22 years, is not shocking at all. On this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach, we are joined by Michael Wessel, an original member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, who is one of the nation's leading experts on China trade and security. Lori and Michael unpack how we got to this juncture, the damage that was done along the way, the supply chain issues we are now dealing with, and our options going forward for U.S.-China trade relations. This episode provides the color commentary to bring context to the endless parade of China trade headlines in the news.

The U.S. finally is getting its act together on climate with big new tax credits for people who buy electric vehicles (EVS) and go solar and incentives for companies to do invest in green production. So why are European and Asian governments steaming mad at us and screaming “trade barrier!!” in numerous languages, instead of cheering our better-late-than-never climate action? Especially given we only have less than 10 years to take drastic measures or face dire climate catastrophe! Will the Biden administration cave in and roll back these excellent new policies that were explicitly designed to simultaneously counter the interrelated crises of climate chaos, supply chain meltdowns causing shortages and inflation, and economic inequality and anxiety? On this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach we unpack what was in the Inflation Reduction Act and how it can help more people get an EV, go solar, have reliable supplies of such products and good jobs making them. Ben Beachy, the Vice President of Manufacturing and Industrial Policy at the BlueGreen Alliance explains it all. Plus, Ben and Lori make sense of the short-sighted sniping from other countries. (Hint: Think circular firing squad!)

Every election is THE most important in our lifetimes, except the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential actually are. How have we come to this crisis of democracy? A team of data scientists, opinion researchers, and strategists spent a year studying the two-time Obama voters who then elected Trump in 2020 and their shattered communities. The resulting “Factory Towns Project” demolishes the conventional wisdom about the path forward for democracy and Democrats. And yes, decades of corporate-rigged trade deals and economic policies that killed millions of manufacturing jobs in thousands of “factory towns” are part of this story. On this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach we get a guided tour from the two “Factory Towns Project” leaders: Celinda Lake, President of Lake Research Partners, who is one of the Democratic Party's leading political strategists and one of two lead pollsters for the Biden campaign in 2020. And Mike Lux, co-founder of Democracy Partners and President of Progressive Strategies LLC. Spoiler: going moderate and mushy to target suburban voters is not the way forward for Democrats. More importantly, making America meet its promise by delivering for the factory town communities is critical to the health of our democracy. Here is the link to the report: https://www.americanfamilyvoices.org/post/winning-back-the-factory-towns-that-made-trumpism-possible

Your doctor's not at fault if you don't know about IPEF. It's not a new virus. But it could harm billions of people. Or not. IPEF = Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Setting rules for 40% of the world's economy is the goal of this recently-launched “trade” negotiation. With the public and Congress locked out so far, few people even know about these talks involving 14 nations. Big Tech interests are using their money and lobbyists and the IPEF's secretive process to try to rig it. They want to lock in their power and monopolies to rake in the profits by trading in our personal data, tracking us, flooding our kids with garbage, and crushing competitors. Some in the Biden administration hope to harness IPEF to develop a new “worker-centered” trade policy. Others seem to be in cahoots with Big Tech. In this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach, Lori breaks down what the IPEF is, how these talks could affect each of our lives and why we all need to start paying attention to IPEF before it's too late.

After two years of pandemic and 15 million dead, how did the first big global WTO summit end with WTO intellectual property barriers still blocking global access to COVID meds? This episode exposes how a sham text gavelled through in the middle of the night and produced a worse-than-nothing outcome only Big Pharma can love. How could this happen given more than 100 WTO countries wanted a real fix? On this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach we bring back two activist lawyers we heard from earlier in the fight: Fatima Hassan at Cape Town's Health Justice Initiative, South Africa and Sangeeta Shashikant with the global Third World Network. Together, they'll walk through what happened, how we've been collectively gaslighted, and the current state of affairs. The fight for global access to COVID meds continues!

On this episode of Rethinking Trade with Lori Wallach we'll expose Amazon's big little secret — a loophole which allows Amazon and other online giants to import billions of dollars in uninspected, unsafe, tax-dodging goods from China into the United States every year. Only Uzbekistan has a bigger “de minimis” loophole, which is the technical name for this scam. Today, more than two million such uninspected packages slip through every day from China alone. Lori is joined by one of our country's great champions for working people and manufacturing, the President and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, Kim Glas. She will break down how this loophole works, who it is hurting and what's being done to fix it.

In this episode, Lori talks with two trailblazing attorneys: Fatima Hassan at Cape Town's Health Justice Initiative, South Africa and Sangeeta Shashikant with the global Third World Network. They discuss why after 18 months, there still is no deal to waive the WTO intellectual property rules blocking global access to COVID vaccines, treatments and tests. And the dire threats posed here and there by less than 20% of people in developing countries being vaccinated. And if you were confused by news that a deal to fix this WTO mess was reached, we'll help make sense of that too. What *really* happened is a story of attempted steamroller tactics being stopped by people power. Plus, they discuss what's next in the fight to end the pandemic.

In this episode, Lori talks with a leading public health expert about how we could END the pandemic and how World Trade Organization monopolies for Big Pharma are blocking that. Health GAP director Asia Russell, who helped bust Big Pharma monopolies to get HIV-AIDS meds to people worldwide, lays out the current COVID situation worldwide and what actions can end the pandemic.

In Part 1 we discussed some of the big issues at stake at the World Trade Organization's 12th Ministerial conference, which was scheduled to take place last week in Geneva. That meeting, however, was postponed after the introduction of travel restrictions related to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Ironically, WTO countries enacting the waiver to get WTO IP barriers out of the way of making the meds to end the pandemic is what many people would consider to be the number one issue for the WTO to act on. A temporary suspension of WTO intellectual property barriers is needed so qualified producers in developing countries can produce more vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19. But while the WTO has again failed to deliver such a waiver, and with a new variant spreading fast, a number of WTO member nations somehow found time to make a new agreement limiting environmental and consumer regulation in the service sector. On today's show, we discuss the status of the TRIPS waiver, dig into this dangerous and potentially illegal agreement on services deregulation, and ask what could and should happen between now and the next WTO general council meeting to help end the pandemic. -- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

LINKS: MC12 Global Call to Action 3 Million TRIPS Petitions Delivered to President Biden Senators Sanders, Warren, Baldwin and Brown call on Biden to Push for TRIPS Waiver at MC12 Reuters: Activists Urge Biden to Push for Intellectual Property Waiver for COVID-19 Vaccines Big Tech's “Digital Trade” Trojan Horse Strategy -- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

U.S. Trade Representative, Katherine Tai's recent speech about the World Trade Organization was shocking. Why? Because she openly and frankly discussed the yawning gap between the WTO's expansive rules and what is right and good for people and the planet. And she made clear that the rules of the global commerce agency need a major redo. That sort of tough love may be the last chance for the WTO, which has suffered a deepening legitimacy crisis for decades. Today WTO intellectual property barriers empower a few pharmaceutical corporations to limit how much vaccine is made, prolonging the pandemic. In this episode we unpack USTR Tai's recent comments and what they mean for the future of the WTO. Learn more: www.tradewatch.org -- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Right now, Apple and Google are lobbying the U.S. government to attack South Korean anti-monopoly policies. They claim that a recently passed Korean law requiring app stores to allow consumers to use diverse payment systems violates the US-Korea trade deal. Big Tech corporations want to hijack trade pacts to outlaw as a “barrier to trade” anti-trust, labor, environmental or consumer protections that could cut into their profits. On today's show, we discuss this case and Big Tech's current attempts to quietly thwart domestic digital governance and pro-competition policymaking now underway in the U.S. Congress, in various U.S. agencies and in countries around the world by misbranding such policies as “barriers to digital trade.” Learn more: www.tradewatch.org -- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Getting the world vaccinated and ending the pandemic is a political choice: World leaders have the medical, technical and financial capacity. To produce enough vaccines involves three clear steps: getting intellectual property monopoly barriers out of the way through a temporary WTO TRIPS waiver, technology transfer through sharing the recipes, and funding global production so the world is not reliant on a few monopoly sources. With this year's United Nations General Assembly now underway and President Biden's upcoming COVID Summit around the corner, the U.S. has a powerful opportunity to end the pandemic. Unfortunately, the targets for Biden's COVID summit exclude making a final deal on the TRIPS waiver or any others steps to share vaccine recipes with the world so more shots can be produced. To discuss all of this, we are joined by longtime HIV and social justice activist Matthew Rose, who leads U.S. policy and advocacy work at Health GAP and has been deeply involved in the fight for the TRIPS waiver. Click here to sign the petition. Click here to learn more about Health GAP. --- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

On August 19th, workers at the massive General Motors plant in Silao, Mexico participated in an historic vote that ousted the corrupt and undemocratic protection union that had long controlled labor relations there. The effort to win such a vote was made possible by the labor rules and Rapid Response enforcement mechanism of the USMCA trade deal. In this Labor Day special, we sit down with Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch Research Director Daniel Rangel and long-time labor organizer Jeff Hermanson, who has been supporting the General Motors campaign through the AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center. We discuss the situation at Silao, its significance in the context of trade policy and what it says about the prospect for workers to utilize the USMCA to fight for labor rights in North America. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In our very first episode, we looked at how corporate-led globalization has fueled shortages in our medical supply-chains and limited our ability to fight COVID-19 Today, we catch everyone up on the latest, discussing two Biden-Harris Administration initiatives aimed at addressing this mess -- a targeted supply chain-review and an executive order on Buy American procurement rules. We also make sense of the latest U.S. trade data, which suggests a record trade deficit in 2021. Yup, that's probably another COVID symptom… Episode transcript. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The world celebrated when President Biden announced the U.S. would support a temporary waiver of World Trade Organization “TRIPS” intellectual property barriers to boost global production of COVID-19 vaccines. But months later, Big Pharma's monopolies remain. The administration has failed to deliver on the waiver or to get vaccine makers to share their recipes. That means dire shortages of vaccines continue and with the vast majority of people worldwide exposed, COVID is on a murderous, variant-spawning rampage. Now the delta variant first detected overseas is burning through the U.S. Public health experts are warning that lockdowns and perhaps other measures, like postponing in-person learning, may be necessary. The U.S. must act now to end the pandemic. Every moment of further inaction enables COVID-19 variants to develop and spread. Take Action: rethinktrade.org. ---- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Within hours of taking office, President Biden revoked the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The project, which would worsen the climate crisis, also posed major health and safety risks to indigenous people whose land it crossed. Now the Canadian corporation that wanted to build the pipeline is using a NAFTA Investor-State Dispute System (ISDS) tribunal to demand $15 billion from U.S. taxpayers. ISDS allows multinational corporations to sue governments before a panel of three corporate lawyers, who can award unlimited sums to be paid by taxpayers, including for the loss of expected future profits. A years-long civil society and labor campaign got the original ISDS rules whacked out of the revised NAFTA. But that fix is phased-in over three years. This means legacy cases like TC Energy's can be launched until 2023. In this episode, we look at the Keystone XL NAFTA ISDS case, the new rules governing investor rights in North America, and the future of the ISDS regime. Learn more at rethinktrade.org. ---- Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

On July 1, 2020, following a lengthy campaign by unions, civil society groups and congressional Democrats to win key improvements, the revised North American Free Trade Agreement, or United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), went into effect. Unlike the original NAFTA, the USMCA requires its signatory countries to respect workers' rights. And it has a special Rapid Response Labor Enforcement Mechanism. The revised deal largely gutted the disastrous Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. But recently-filed labor enforcement complaints and a “legacy” ISDS case with the corporation behind the XL pipeline demanding $15 billion from U.S. taxpayers provide a stark warning that if and how the USMCA improves life and work in North America will depend on activism in all three nations. See Public Citizen's analysis of the delayed phase-in of Mexico's new labor justice system here: http://bitly.ws/dRnT Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This May 27th webinar “The Fight for Workers' Rights in North America: Major Recent Developments Under the Revised NAFTA,” featured Mexican labor leader Susana Prieto Terrazas (Sindicato Nacional Independiente de Trabajadores de Industrias y de Servicios), Ben Davis (United Steelworkers), Rachel Micah-Jones (Centro de los Derechos del Migrante) and Daniel Rangel (Public Citizen). These US and Mexican labor and civil society leaders discussed recent labor enforcement cases under the revised NAFTA. The event coincided with the release of a new Public Citizen analysis of the delayed phase-in of Mexico's new labor justice system, which was one of the key commitments undertaken by Mexico when NAFTA was renegotiated in 2018. The report reviews which Mexican states will be in compliance and by what date, based on states' share of foreign direct investment, industrial activity, labor conflicts and more. Read the report here: http://bitly.ws/dRnT Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

On May 5th, the Biden administration announced its support for an emergency COVID-19 waiver of “TRIPS” intellectual property barriers at the World Trade Organization. As we've detailed in previous episodes, 100 mainly developing countries have pushed for a TRIPS waiver to facilitate more production of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments around the world. By reversing the Trump administration block against waiver negotiations, the Biden-Harris administration created momentum for a waiver to be adopted. And made clear saving lives is the priority. But while we celebrate this historic U.S. announcement and the efforts of people around the world to get a waiver, the Pharma lobby is gearing up to derail, weaken or delay any waiver. In this episode, we reflect on the U.S. campaign for a TRIPS waiver, and the fight still to come as we work to secure the fastest possible agreement on a waiver covering all intellectual property barriers for COVID-19 vaccines, tests & treatments. Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod. Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove. License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The National Trade Estimates report is an annual wish list of other countries' laws, policies and practices that corporations want labeled as “trade barriers,” in hopes that the U.S. government will turn their elimination into policy goals. Like our trade agreements, however, this seek-and-destroy list of so-called trade-barriers is largely not about trade. Instead, legitimate public interest policies, from environmental protections to consumer health regulations, are targeted for elimination. But with major shifts happening in the U.S. around the future of trade policy, there is reason for hope: according to a recent statement from Public Citizen, this year's report may “be the last NTE that targets access to medicines, food safety, and digital trade policies as trade barriers.” Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Millions of people around the world may not get COVID-19 vaccines until as late as 2024 due to World Trade Organization rules that protect medicine monopolies for the Big Pharma giants. What do these WTO rules require? How do they implicate access to essential medicines? How do countries escape these WTO-imposed barriers that protect corporate profits for vaccines developed with boatloads of tax-payer money? On this episode, Lori gives us a guided tour through the thorny thicket of intellectual property monopolies, the “trade” agreement rules that oblige countries to enforce them and the WTO waiver needed to boost production of COVID vaccines, treatment and tests worldwide. Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Our tax dollars should support green jobs with fair wages, not a global race to the bottom that exploits workers and poisons the environment. But thanks to corporate-rigged trade policies, “Buy American” government purchasing requirements are waived to include purchases from 60 other countries. This means our tax dollars are exported instead of being recycled at home to develop electric car and domestic solar, wind and other renewable energy manufacturing. With the COVID-19 relief bill currently being implemented and another major spending bill on the horizon, the president must take a simple but important action to keep trillions in taxpayer dollars circulating in the U.S. economy to build a green future. Thankfully, the Biden administration's Build Back Better plan acknowledges this as a problem for both climate justice and economic justice, but obstacles still remain. More on this subject is available here. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Audio from a live Public Citizen webinar featuring Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-ILL), South African Counsellor to the WTO Mustaqeem De Gama, and Senior Legal and Policy Advisor at Doctors Without Borders, Yuanqiong Hu. The event discusses how millions of people around the world may not get COVID-19 vaccines until as late as 2024 unless President Biden reverses the Trump administration's deadly position at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Learn more at rethinktrade.org. Music: Groove Grove by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3831-groove-grove License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/