January 31, 2019: The Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a grand alliance of seventy-five US and EU consumer organisations, has issued a strong critical statement about the intention of 76 WTO member governments to negotiate binding rules for e-commerce that would not protect consumer rights.

January 29, 2019: The elite business and government World Economic Forum meeting last week was a perfect setting for Australia and 70 other mostly industrialised country governments to announce exclusive plans for an e-commerce trade deal that was rejected after fierce debate by the majority of the 164 WTO members who met in Argentina in December.

January 23, 2019: Yesterday the ABC reported that Clive Palmer has moved ownership of his company to New Zealand, claimed to be an NZ company, and threatened to use an Australia-New Zealand trade agreement to sue Australian taxpayers for $45 billion because he claims the Western Australian government intends to pass legislation that would disadvantage his company.

January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to  Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local manufacturing jobs and training in regional Australia, and congratulated union members who campaigned for the policy.

January 17, 2019: While the TPP-11 came into force on December 30, 2018, with six of the eleven signatories ratifying, the new Malaysian government has not ratified the TPP-11 and is seriously reviewing their entire approach to trade and investment agreements.

January 16, 2019: The massive rejection of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit Withdrawal Bill yesterday supercharges the drama over the future of Europe and the future of trade and investment deals world-wide.

January 9, 2019: A decision by the Indonesian Constitutional Court on November 22, 2018, has found that the Indonesian President cannot approve trade agreements without presenting them to the House of Representatives for approval. All such agreements will need to be reviewed.

January 8, 2019: Using the Investor-State Dispute provisions of the North America Free Trade Agreement, a USA mining company, Legacy Vulcan, lodged a claim for US$500 million against the Mexican government on January 3, 2019. It cited tax and environmental regulations in its claim, of which it first gave formal notice on September 3, 2018.

20 December 2018: Academic Kyla Tienhaara argues in The Conversation that  fossil fuels have no future but companies are using ISDS to sue governments as they act to reduce carbon emissions.

December 16, 2018  Dr Patricia Ranald outlined AFTINET's vision for trade justice at a fringe event at the ALP conference,.