GLOBAL
PC: 90 Deals in 90 Days? Inside Trump’s Corrupt Trade Deals
Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2, a 10% baseline on most countries worldwide plus individualized “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of them. The courts have ruled that he overstepped his authority, and as the Trump administration appeals, whether or not these reckless tariffs will be implemented in some form remains to be seen.
But what’s in these deals? Even by the poor transparency standards of past trade policymaking, this level of secrecy is unprecedented. While bragging about potentially “90 deals in 90 days,” the administration has not even disclosed the list of countries they are meeting with, much less the content of the negotiations. Meanwhile, Trump’s own family, Elon Musk, corporate CEOs, billionaire cryptobros, and foreign oligarchs have the President’s ear.
Without transparency and accountability, we can expect the typical corporate bonanza on steroids plus Trump’s own brand of corruption and grift.
When Trump announced his global tariffs on so-called “Liberation Day,” he waved around the US Trade Representative’s 2025 National Trade Estimates Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. It’s known as the NTE report, or as Trump calls it, his “special book.” 5 This 400-page annual report lists the policies and practices of other countries that U.S. businesses don’t like.
Below is a snapshot of policies targeted in the report.
TNI: The False Dilemma Between Protectionism and Free Trade – Luciana Ghiotto
Donald Trump’s second administration seems to have changed the global trade landscape. The Trump administration focused on free trade because it understands it as a practice that has damaged US hegemony by generating trade imbalances with its partners (especially China). From this perspective, high tariffs could help recover some of the industrial and economic power lost through globalization. "The most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff," Trump said in 2024, and since his inauguration in January, we have understood that he was not exaggerating.
In this article, we aim to examine Trump’s tariff policies from a critical perspective, transcending the predominant interpretations that present them as a radical break with the previous global economic order. Our research is structured around three fundamental objectives. First, to develop a rigorous analysis of the nature, scope, and historicity of the transformations generated by Trumpist tariff policies, situating them in the broader trajectory of the relationships between State and capital in contemporary capitalism.
Second, to critically problematize the dominant conception of "free trade," questioning whether current protectionist policies represent a true break with the free trade paradigm or whether they constitute, rather, a reconfiguration of the mechanisms of accumulation within the same systemic logic. Third, to examine the implications of these transformations for social movements that have articulated their strategies around the critique of free trade during the last three decades, evaluating the challenges that this new scenario poses for their interpretative frameworks and political practices.
We maintain that a critical reading of the current moment is fundamental for rethinking the strategies of social movements, particularly with respect to their relationship with nation-states and the ways of building effective transnational solidarities. The ongoing transformations require reconsidering both the political subjects who are protagonists of resistance and the scales at which these must be articulated to confront a system whose contradictions manifest simultaneously at multiple levels.
Scroll: The high-tech parasites feeding off human hosts – Rachael Brown and Rob Brooks
Head lice, fleas and tapeworms have been humanity’s companions throughout our evolutionary history. Yet, the greatest parasite of the modern age is no blood-sucking invertebrate. It is sleek, glass-fronted and addictive by design. Its host? Every human on Earth with a wifi signal.
Far from being benign tools, smartphones parasitise our time, our attention and our personal information, all in the interests of technology companies and their advertisers.
In a new article in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, we argue smartphones pose unique societal risks, which come into sharp focus when viewed through the lens of parasitism.
GDJF: No Digital Justice Without Fiscal Justice
A just digital transition in the majority world depends significantly on fiscal justice. The virtualized digital economy is inextricably embedded in real economy value chains such as extractives, manufacturing, and construction. The loss of revenue from unjust trade and tax practices directly prevents developing countries from honoring their commitment to the right to development and building a rich public domain, key commitments made under the WSIS Geneva Declaration. It deprives them of the rightful resources to build the requisite digital infrastructure, to bridge the gender digital divide, to guarantee the right to access and meaningful participation for all, and to provide social security for workers in an economy of pervasive platformization, and in general, to ensure digital innovation dividends serve their societies.
The current international economic and financial system is stacked against the digital futures of developing countries. Despite strong calls from civil society, the outcome document of the Fourth UN Financing for Development Conference reflects the policy priorities of Global North governments. With ambitious language on sovereign debt architecture reform, international tax cooperation, and development finance significantly weakened during negotiations, the document falls short of meaningful action-oriented commitments.
Against this backdrop, the Global Digital Justice Forum exhorts the WSIS+20 review process to recognize fiscal justice as essential to the realization of digital justice. We call for urgent action to realign the global digital economy and its financial architecture with principles of fairness, inclusivity, and accountability.
ASIA
Medianama: Analyzing the India-UK FTA: Is India Giving Up Its ‘Digital Sovereignty’ Dream? – Rishab Bailey, Shobhit S., and Sadhana Sanjay
On May 6, 2025, India and the UK concluded talks on a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA), after years of negotiations. The binding and enforceable agreement implements a package of measures, aimed in particular at opening the Indian market to UK exports.
A key chapter in the FTA concerns “digital trade”, which contains several provisions that are significant to regulation of the digital ecosystem in India. Of particular interest are provisions on non-discrimination, data flows, access to source code, and electronic authentication. The primary beneficiaries of these provisions are likely to be foreign technology companies, who will be eager to use the new FTA to try and limit attempts by the government at regulating the digital ecosystem in India.
This article examines some of the more problematic provisions in the FTA and explains why India may be better off avoiding such international agreements.
PoliticoPro: US pushes South Korea on tech antitrust legislation in trade talks – Ari Hawkins (paywalled)
Trump administration officials asked South Korea to shelve legislation aimed at penalizing monopolistic behavior.
The Trump administration is trying to pressure South Korea to ditch antitrust legislation being considered by the country’s parliament as part of trade negotiations, a sign of how the president is trying to use the threat of tariffs to extract a wide range of concessions.
According to three people close to the discussions granted anonymity to divulge private details, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and other administration officials have asked South Korean trade negotiators not to move forward with major antitrust legislative proposals aimed at regulating online platforms — the South Korean national assembly has floated more than a dozen in recent years. Major tech firms such as Google, Apple, Meta and Coupang have called South Korea’s proposals discriminatory against U.S. firms, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which claims to represent millions of businesses, has also expressed concern.
Bloomberg: US, Vietnam Move Closer to Trade Framework as Deadline Nears – Jennifer Dlouhy and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen
The US and Vietnam are closing in on a framework trade agreement, despite ongoing concerns about Chinese goods being rerouted through the Southeast Asian nation to avoid tariffs, according to people familiar with the talks.
EUROPE
WSJ: U.S., EU Near Deal on Nontariff Trade Irritants – Gavin Bade and Kim Mackrael
The U.S. and European Union appear to be nearing a deal on multiple nontariff trade issues from deforestation rules to the treatment of U.S. tech companies in Europe—but the fate of looming tariffs set to be imposed by each trading partner remains unclear.
A draft “agreement on reciprocal trade” circulated by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office lays out tentative deals on a litany of specific trade issues, including the EU’s Digital Markets Act, its carbon-based border tariffs, shipbuilding and more, according to people with knowledge of the text, who said the agreement appeared to be close to final but emphasized it could change in the coming days and weeks.
EconomicTimes: EU tech rules not included in US trade talks, EU Commission says – Reuters
The European Union on Monday pushed back against U.S. criticism of its landmark tech rules that many feared could be included in ongoing trade negotiations with the United States and subsequently watered down.
"The legislations will not be changed. The DMA and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.," spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference.
He said the EU would not brook any interference from foreign governments on how it enforces its landmark rules which come with hefty fines for violations.
NORTH AMERICA
BBC: Trump tariffs can stay in place for now, appeals court rules – Natalie Sherman
US President Donald Trump can keep collecting import taxes for now, an appeals court has said, a day after a trade ruling found the bulk of his global tariffs to be illegal.
A federal appeals court granted a bid from the White House to temporarily suspend the lower court’s order, which ruled that Trump had overstepped his power by imposingthe duties.
Axios: Supreme Court rejects toy companies’ request to expedite tariff case
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request by two small toy companies to expedite a tariff lawsuit against the Trump administration.
The rejection means the dispute over the legality of Trump’s tariffs will proceed through a federal appellate court in Washington, as was already planned.
"In light of the tariffs’ massive impact on virtually every business and consumer across the nation, and the unremitting whiplash caused by the unfettered tariffing power the president claims, challenges to the IEEPA tariffs cannot await the normal appellate process," the companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, had said in their request.
But the high court rejected that petition without comment.
NYT: A Timeline of Trump’s On-Again, Off-Again Tariffs – Talya Minsberg
It’s been hard to keep track of the state of tariffs in the first 100 days of Mr. Trump’s second term. Here’s a timeline of President Trump’s widening — and constantly shifting — tariffs.
NYT: Trump Says U.S. Ending Trade Talks With Canada – Tony Ramm, Andrew Duehren, Matina Stevis-Gridneff
President Trump on Friday said that the United States would terminate all trade discussions with Canada, “effective immediately,” over the country’s plan to begin collecting digital services taxes from U.S. technology giants.
Mr. Trump described those taxes as a “blatant attack,” and promised on social media that he would inform Canada within the next seven days about the duties “they will be paying to do business with the United States of America.”
WP: Canada rescinds digital services tax after Trump suspends trade talks – Amanda Coletta
Canada late Sunday said it would rescind a new tax it planned to collect from large tech companies after President Donald Trump last week called the levy a “blatant attack” on the United States and said he would suspend trade talks with Ottawa over it.
In a statement, the Canadian government said Prime Minister Mark Carney and Trump had agreed to resume negotiations on a “mutually beneficial comprehensive trade agreement” and would aim to reach a deal by July 21. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The tax has long drawn opposition from Washington. The Biden administration argued that it discriminated against U.S. companies. Canadian business groups have also criticized the levy, in part because they believed it could strain U.S.-Canada ties and imperil a key trade relationship.
TheVerge: A judge just blew up Apple’s control of the App Store – Jay Peters
Epic v. Apple judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers just ruled that, effective immediately, Apple is no longer allowed to collect fees on purchases made outside apps and blocks the company from restricting how developers can point users to where they can make purchases outside of apps. Apple says it will appeal the order.
The ruling was issued as part of Epic Games’ ongoing legal dispute against Apple, and it’s a major victory for Epic’s arguments. Gonzalez Rogers also says that Apple “willfully” chose not to comply with her previous injunction from her original 2021 ruling. “That [Apple] thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” Gonzalez Rogers says.
The judge also referred the case to the US attorney to review it for possible criminal contempt proceedings.
CNN: The ‘revenge tax’ is dead before it even started – John Towfighi
The Treasury Department and Congress on Thursday moved to kill a so-called revenge tax that was set to raise taxes on foreign investment and had spooked Wall Street and global business leaders.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday announced a deal with G7 partners that will exclude US companies from some global taxes in exchange for the US dropping Section 899 from Republican’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
AP: Lawmakers remove ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury Department request – Fatima Hussein and Josh Boak
Congressional Republicans agreed to remove the so-called revenge tax provision from President Donald Trump’s big bill on Thursday after a request by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Section 899 provision that was nixed would have allowed the federal government to impose taxes on companies with foreign owners, as well as investors from countries judged as charging “unfair foreign taxes” on U.S. companies.
The measure was expected to lead many companies to avoid investing in the U.S. out of concern that they could face steep taxes. But the removal of the provision adds a wrinkle to Republicans’ plans to try to offset the cost of the massive package.
Reuters: Exclusive: Trump plans executive orders to power AI growth in race with China – Valerie Volcovici and Jarett Renshaw
The Trump administration is readying a package of executive actions aimed at boosting energy supply to power the U.S. expansion of artificial intelligence, according to four sources familiar with the planning.
Top economic rivals U.S. and China are locked in a technological arms race and with it secure an economic and military edge. The huge amount of data processing behind AI requires a rapid increase in power supplies that are straining utilities and grids in many states.
The moves under consideration include making it easier for power-generating projects to connect to the grid, and providing federal land on which to build the data centers needed to expand AI technology, according to the sources.
Data&Society: There’s No Reason to Ban State AI Regulation – Brian J Chen and Serena Oduro
Congress is considering a proposal to ban states from regulating AI and automated decision systems. Such a ban would preempt state efforts to, among other things, prevent the use of algorithmic technology in creating unsafe, unfair, or discriminatory outcomes in government programs; regulate landlords’ use of algorithms to set rents; and govern AI-generated non-consensual intimate imagery. The ban is currently included in the US budget reconciliation bill. Even if the proposal fails in the government’s budget, a “federal moratorium” on state AI regulation is likely to remain a centerpiece in congressional legislative efforts.
There are many good reasons to oppose a ban on state regulation of AI. Blocking state regulation would inhibit, not promote, innovation; erode protections for workers and consumers; and concentrate the tech industry’s market power, harming US democracy. In this brief, part of our series focused on myths of AI, we focus on countering specific arguments being made in favor of the moratorium.
CPCC: How Banning State Regulation of AI Harms Workers – Sara Steffens and Samantha Sanders
The ban on state regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) contained in both the House and Senate versions of the Republican megabill is overly broad, dangerous to workers, and out of step with public interest. This provision – a ten-year blanket ban on state and local governments’ ability to protect their residents from the harms of AI – is a reckless giveaway to Big Tech that will have far-reaching consequences for economic fairness, worker power, and public trust.
Here are a few key ways this unprecedented ban on state action to protect workers and consumers could harm workers and erode public trust.
PSW: Uber’s Inequality Machine: Data on How AI-Driven Pay is Harming Workers and What We Can Do to Push Back
Imagine going to work each day not knowing how much you’ll get paid. Instead of a salary or an hourly wage, an AI software program decides how much to offer for each task you do in ways that are difficult for you to predict.
If you’re an Uber driver, you face that grim scenario every day. Our new report, Uber’s Inequality Machine: Data on How AI-Driven Pay is Harming Workers and What We Can Do to Push Back, reveals the human consequences of working at the whim of AI.
The vast majority of surveyed drivers reported getting squeezed and manipulated by Uber’s pay algorithm, and commonly reported serious financial hardship and psychological distress as a result of pay unpredictability on the app.
Seven in ten drivers report experiences that suggest Uber’s AI manipulates driver pay in ways that push drivers to accept lower fares or keep drivers on the road for longer.
NYT: Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans – Sheera Frankel and Aaron Krolik
In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies, raising questions over whether he might compile a master list of personal information on Americans that could give him untold surveillance power.
Mr. Trump has not publicly talked about the effort since. But behind the scenes, officials have quietly put technological building blocks into place to enable his plan. In particular, they have turned to one company: Palantir, the data analysis and technology firm.
The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work across the federal government in recent months. The company has received more than $113 million in federal government spending since Mr. Trump took office, according to public records, including additional funds from existing contracts as well as new contracts with the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon. (This does not include a $795 million contract that the Department of Defense awarded the company last week, which has not been spent.)
TheGuardian: Peter Thiel’s Palantir poses a grave threat to Americans – Robert Reich
Palantir is now poised to combine data gleaned from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Meanwhile, the administration wants access to citizens’ and others’ bank account numbers and medical claims.
Will the Trump regime use an emerging super-database to advance Trump’s political agenda, find and detain immigrants, and punish critics? Will it make it easier for Trump to spy on and target his ever-growing list of enemies and other Americans? We’ll soon find out.
TheVerge: The Trump administration appears to be planning its own chatbot – Lauren Feiner
The Trump administration is working on an “AI.gov” website and API to “accelerate government innovation with AI,” 404 Media found based on code posted to Github and an early version of the site.
DOGE has sought to use AI to replace the work of the thousands of federal workers it’s helped expel, Wired has reported. Though Musk recently left the government and has been engaged in a posting war with the President, the AI.gov project suggests DOGE’s legacy is still kicking.
LATIN AMERICA
CDT: Moderating Quechua Content on Social Media – Dhanaraj Thakur
In this project we seek to critically examine how content moderation systems operate in non-English contexts, particularly in indigenous and other languages of the Majority World (i.e., the Global South). This includes how social media platforms conduct analysis of user generated content, as well as processes for evaluation, enforcement, and appeals of content moderation decisions made by the platforms (Kamara et al., 2021).
This report examines these questions with a focus on Quechua or Runa Simi (as it is referred to in Quechua).
The main findings suggest that Quechua social media users face many problems when posting on social media including when compared to those that post in Spanish,[1] pointing to a new form of linguistic inequity
