January 16, 2020: The US-China phase one tariff deal that was announced on December 19 has been signed and the text has been released.

January 14, 2020: Uber has written to the Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez to officially notify him that it intends to sue the Colombian government for its decision to block the platform company from operating in the country.

January 13, 2020: Noah Smith recently reported on a debate about US trade policy at an American Economic Association meeting that showed more economists are criticising the “cosy consensus” on corporate-dominated free trade agreements.

January 7, 2020: Aura Energy Ltd, an Australian company also listed in the UK, has lodged a claim under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) for US 1.8 billion compensation from the Swedish government because in 2018 it decided to phase out uranium mining for environmental reasons.

January 6, 2020: The global response to Australian bushfires suggest that Australia will face strong international pressure to increase its action on climate change, including by transitioning away from fossil fuels.

December 19, 2019: In a reported ‘Phase One’ agreement with China, the US has agreed to ditch its threatened new tariffs of $156 billion on Chinese goods, and has reduced but not removed existing tariffs. In return, China has agreed to buy more US agricultural exports and change its trade practices in the areas of intellectual property, technology transfer, agriculture, financial services and currency.

December 18, 2019: For the past two years the US Trump administration has imposed unilateral tariffs outside of the rules of the 164-member World Trade Organisation. The WTO, although it has many flaws, is the only multilaterally-agreed rules-based trading system. WTO rules are enforceable through government-to-government disputes, heard by disputes panels whose initial decisions can be appealed to ensure they conform with WTO rules.

December 17, 2019: Following labour and civil society campaigns over the past two years, the US, Canada and Mexico have signed an amended US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) which eliminates longer medicine monopolies that would have delayed access to cheaper medicines. The amendments also include stronger protection for labour rights.

December 16, 2019: The Conservative party victory in the UK elections last week means that negotiations for an Australia-UK free trade agreement could begin as early as February 2020.