MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                                                March 24, 2026                                 

March 23, 2026: Malaysia has declared its “reciprocal” trade agreement with the United States null and void following a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court that struck down key tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

March 13, 2026: A new policy brief from the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development in New Delhi argues that a key issue at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon may have far-reaching consequences for the global digital economy. Written by digital policy analyst Parminder Jeet Singh, the paper claims that proposals to make the WTO’s e-commerce moratorium permanent could effectively prevent countries from imposing border taxes on cross-border AI and digital services in the future.

March 4, 2026: AFTINET has joined more than 100 organisations from around the world in signing a joint open letter calling on governments to resist US trade coercion which threatens access to affordable medicines. 

World Trade Organisation rules give pharmaceutical companies monopoly patents to charge high prices for medicines for 20 years. The letter responds to the US' use of tariff threats and secretive negotiations to push countries into agreements that strengthen pharmaceutical monopolies, restrict price controls, and limit governments’ ability to ensure affordable supply.

March 3, 2026: A new article from independent climate change think tank E3G argues that the window opened at COP30 to address investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) must now translate into concrete reform at COP31. ISDS, embedded in many trade and investment treaties, allow foreign investors including fossil fuel companies to sue governments in private tribunals over policy changes that affect expected profits. The role of ISDS in delaying climate action was discussed in side events at COP 30 and in the Baku to Belém Roadmap on climate finance, which identifies ISDS as a systemic barrier to equitable funding flows, but was largely absent in the main negotiations.

March 2, 2026: the AFTINET submission reviews the latest evidence against investor rights to sue governments, known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement  (ISDS).  The submission recommends that Bilateral Investment agreements  with Hungary, Poland, Czechia, Lithuania and Romania should be terminated without sunset clauses, which preserve existing investor rights to sue after agreements are terminated.

March 2, 2026:  AFTINET’'s  submission to this review presents the latest evidence against ISDS including its use by fossil fuel companies against government climate action, and why it should be removed from the agreement. 

February 24, 2026: A recent article by New Zealand academic Jane Kelsey argues that what is being described as “WTO reform” amounts to a quiet coup led by powerful, richer nations, notably the European Union and the United States. Supported by a group of “Friends of the System”, including Australia and New Zealand, the push would fundamentally reshape how the global trade body operates.

February 23, 2026: The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 verdict, has ruled that Congress alone had the power to impose permanent tariffs and that US President Trump did not have the legal authority to use International Emergency Powers to impose permanent “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from many countries from April last year. Trump immediately abused two of the Supreme Court justices appointed by him in his previous term who were part of the majority decision.

February 19, 2026: The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) has published a statement against the coercive efforts by the Trump administration to pressure European governments into raising medicine prices. The coalition of more than 70 consumer, public health and trade groups across the US and Europe rejected the use of tariff threats to achieve this.

The policy claims to lower US medicine costs by pushing up prices overseas. TACD argues this approach is fundamentally flawed and contradictory, noting that raising prices abroad will not ease the burden on American patients. Instead, it risks inflating pharmaceutical profits while undermining pricing safeguards that keep medicines affordable in Europe.