Hot Topics in International Trade
[Podcast] USMCA in Review, with C.J. Mahoney, Former Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
Torres Talks Trade podcast Episode 8 on Worker-Centered Trade
Inclusive Trade at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR): A Conversation with Jamila Thompson
WorldSmart: The Impact of Export Control and Economic Sanctions on International Business
Nota Bene Episode 113: Common Markets and the Race for Power in Africa with Andreas Stargard
Trade Relations and Top Trade Priorities Around the Globe
Nota Bene Episode 70: Examining the USMCA: Is it Simply a Rebranded NAFTA? with Scott Maberry
On July 31, 2025, President Trump issued two executive orders that further refine U.S. trade policy. The first executive order, “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates” (the RT Order), adjusts tariff rates for various...more
Here we are. August , 2025, and the media is now publishing what facts they have on the various trade deals as well as those that have yet to come to fruition, in addition to the new announcement of imposed global tariffs...more
The Realities of Free Trade - Many of our basic freedoms are guaranteed by the Constitution. Speech, press, assembly, religion: these are all accepted as sacrosanct rights by reasonable people across the political spectrum....more
Under the current de minimis rule, shipments with an aggregate value up to $800 per day per person can be imported free of duties and taxes, except for antidumping and countervailing duties and taxes collected by other...more
Between July 24–26, trade ministers, members of the diplomatic corps and other stakeholders came to Washington, D.C., for the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. This year’s forum, “Beyond 2025:...more
The World Trade Organization (WTO) experienced some of its most challenging times during the first Trump administration. While the Biden administration has been relatively kinder to the WTO, it still remains critical of the...more
In May 2023, Global Feedback, an environmental advocacy group based in the UK and the Netherlands, announced that it had filed legal proceedings against the UK government, claiming that it failed to adequately assess the...more
The United Kingdom's free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia and New Zealand entered into force on May 31, 2023. As a significant milestone in the UK's post-Brexit future, these FTAs are the first two independently...more
The US-Africa Leaders Summit took place from December 13-15, 2022 in Washington DC, and featured top-level government-to-government talks, private sector engagements, and resulted in a number of trade-related outcomes...more
The explosion of global business and human rights continued to resonate across the globe in 2022. Some of the business and human rights trends have been evident and growing for several years; others are relatively new. Many...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022. The IRA made major changes to United States rules for electric vehicle (EV) tax credits. The IRA and its implications for...more
Business and human rights is continuing its steady march toward becoming a business imperative. There are sweeping new or proposed laws focused on human rights, such as the EU’s Proposal for a Directive on Corporate...more
After eight years of back-and-forth negotiations, Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Trade (RCEP), the world’s largest regional trade agreement, was signed in an online ceremony on 15 November 2020....more
Just one day before New Year’s Eve, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU Council President Charles Michel and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Effective as...more
A. What is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement - The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement is a mega free trade agreement signed on November 15, 2020 by 15 Asia-Pacific countries,...more
On 31 January 2020, the UK left the European Union and entered a transition period that is due to end at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020. At this point, it is still uncertain whether a new EU/UK deal will be reached. To...more
A new landmark free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union entered into force on 1 August 2020. The agreement provides expansive preferential treatment for both goods and services, recognition and protection...more
After 26 and a half years, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has practically ceased to exist as of July 1, 2020, and has been replaced by United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Because many of NAFTA's...more
Facebook has agreed to pay $550 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit claiming that Zuck & Co.’s use of facial recognition technology violated Illinois’ biometric privacy law. Though the settlement is little more than “a...more
Sending a shot across the bow of the gig economy, New Jersey is seeking nearly $650 million from Uber for “years of unpaid employment taxes for its drivers, arguing that the ride-hailing company has misclassified the workers...more
The Government of Canada has invited members of the public to submit views on the potential admission of additional members to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, an international trade...more
In recent weeks, the Trump administration and members of the US business community have continued to engage with the US Congress to advocate congressional approval of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which they have...more
The year 2018 may be remembered as a turning point for US trade policy and the international trading system. The Trump administration took several unilateral trade actions, including the imposition of global "national...more
On September 30, 2018, the United States, Mexico and Canada reached a trade agreement to supersede the North American Free Trade Agreement. The aptly named United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement includes intellectual property...more
On October 1, 2018, the United States, Canada, and Mexico announced that they had reached an agreement to “modernize” the 24-year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). When NAFTA came into effect, it created the...more