International Resistance to Trump Trade Deals
Facing the threat of extreme “reciprocal” tariffs, governments are being coerced into ceding the sovereign right to resources and governance in the interest of their people. With the U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs — the very tariffs used to pressure countries into the agreements — the future of these deals are not certain.
Thousands of farmers, labor organizers, healthcare workers, faith leaders, economists, climate experts, government officials, and more from across the world are urging their governments to resist U.S. imperialism through trade deals.
While the country, source, and voice varies, one throughline persists: these deals surrender sovereignty, jeopardize rights, and undermine economic development.
Agreements on Reciprocal Trade
Argentina | Bangladesh | Cambodia
Indonesia | Malaysia | Taiwan
Other Deals
Democratic Republic of the Congo | European Union | India
Morocco| Philippines| United Kingdom
Argentina
Rechazo al acuerdo comercial con Estados Unidos: Argentina no se negocia
Argentina Mejor Sin TLC
November 26, 2025
Social, labor, environmental, human rights, peasant, and community organizations that make up the Argentine popular movement the Asamblea Argentina mejor sin TLC warn that this trade agreement, negotiated in secret without public participation, represents a serious surrender of sovereignty, jeopardizes rights, employment, and the economy. The collective statement denounces the agreement as an act of national subordination that mortgages the future and dismantles historical gains.
Tiempo Ar
By Luciana Ghiotto
February 26, 2026
The agreement – which must be approved by Congress – gives centrality to the Incentive Regime for Large Investments, transforming it into the mechanism through which the desires of US companies would be channeled. This deal would dramatically reduce public policy space in Argentina and expose the country to enormous fiscal, diplomatic, and legal costs.
Bangladesh
Business and Human Rights Centre
April 3, 2025
Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, warns that workers are still reeling from the aftermath of COVID, the economic downturn stoked by the invasion of Ukraine and attacks on Gaza, coupled with the loss of support services from civil society organizations hobbled by Trump’s foreign aid cuts. This deal just spells more bad news for Bangladesh’s 4 million garment workers, many of whom are women.
Why ‘secret’ Bangladesh-US trade deal has sparked concern
FirstPost
February 6, 2026
Bangladesh economist Anu Muhammad wrote via Facebook questioned the “urgency to lease a port, import arms, and sign subordination agreements with the United States just a few days before the national election.” This deal was being done in a “completely non-transparent, illogical, and irregular manner” and that foreign “lobbyists” who had been implanted within the Yunus administration as advisers were “desperate to make these agreements.” “Do they have a commitment or an obligation to someone that they must do this contract? Otherwise, why are they pushing the country into a terrible, dangerous situation?”
Economist questions hurried signing of US trade deal
The Daily Star, republished in other outlets
By Jagaran Chakma
February 21, 2026
“If the original legal basis of those tariff measures has been cancelled, then the core justification of the agreement also becomes questionable,” Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Civil society leaders condemn US deal, demand white paper on Yunus regime
The Daily Republic
February 22, 2026
In a resolution adopted during its general meeting, the civil society platform Ganatantrik Odhikar Committee (GOC) has condemned the US deal as authoritarian overreach, secretive decision-making, and actions detrimental to national sovereignty. It is a horrific conspiracy to handcuff Bangladesh’s economy, and any incoming elected government must withdraw from the illegitimate pact signed without public or parliamentary consultation.
Bangladesh Urges Review of US Trade Deal After US Supreme Court Ruling on Tariffs
News on Air
February 22, 2026
Concessions outweigh potential export gains, and the Supreme Court ruling provides an opportunity to reconsider or renegotiate the deal before binding obligations take effect.
Rethinking the Bangladesh-US trade deal following the legal blow
The Daily Star
By MG Quilbria
February 24, 2026
The interim government rushed to finalize the deal just before elections, binding future governments to restrictive obligations and escaping the consequences. The U.S. has taken de facto control over Bangladesh’s economic relationships with the rest of the world.
Is Bangladesh facing diplomatic and psychological pressure?
Prothomalo
By Mosahida Sultana
March 3, 2026
Bangladesh should not be swayed by the psychological and diplomatic pressure that the US has created to implement the trade agreement. If the elected government makes the same mistake that the interim government made, Bangladesh will quickly lose another opportunity.
US trade deal limiting Bangladesh’s energy options: Says Debapriya
The Daily Star
April 1, 2026
Convener of the Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh, Debapriya Bhattacharya, argues that the trade deal may severely limit Bangladesh’s energy options. The economist presented remarks and analysis at a media briefing covering the first budget of the new government.
Cancellation of trade deal with US govt demanded
New Age Net
April 7, 2026
The Ganatantrik Jukta Front, a coalition of seven political parties, held a protest at the National Press Club in Dhaka to call on the government to scrap the U.S. trade deal signed during the interim government.
Cambodia
Trade Without Accountability: Why the US–Cambodia Tariff Deal is Important for Cambodian Workers
KiriPost; republished in multiple outlets
By Tharo Kuhn, labor advocate
January 5, 2026
The dismantling of soft power instruments like USAID to protect workers from exploitation created a vacuum that authoritarian regimes are eager to exploit. The ART offers no enforceable labor standards. “It is, at best, a symbolic gesture and at worst, a signal that human rights are negotiable.”
Indonesia
Will Indonesia Regret Its Trade Deal With Trump?
Project Syndicate
Lili Yan Ing, International Economic Association
July 21, 2025
To prevent geopolitical and economic harm from a deal with the United States, Indonesia must 1) demand full transparency on 10% tariff cap, 2) publish full details of the procurement commitments, 3) reaffirm long-term trade strategy anchored in diversification, rules-based agreements, and regional leadership, and above all, preserve autonomy in an increasingly polarized global economy. Only then can Indonesia ensure that a handshake in Washington does not become a handcuff at home.
The Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI) (Indonesian Peasant Union), La Via Campesina
July 23, 2025
“Food is not just a commodity; it is a right and a sovereign matter. These trade concessions are paving the way for foreign agribusiness to dominate our food systems, sidelining local producers.”
The US-Indonesia Tariff Deal: A Harmful Trade-Off
Transnational Institute
By Rachmi Hertanti
July 31, 2025
Imbalances in defining “reciprocity,” rights to critical minerals, and intellectual property terms in this deal will compromise Indonesia’s development. The existence of a multipolar world should be seen as an opportunity for Southern countries to establish a new multilateral order built through equal cooperation, not imposed through unilateral or liberal hegemony[18]. Therefore, the policy of raw materials export ban for added value is key and must be a non-negotiable position, especially for Indonesia, in order to improve its political position and bargaining power amid rapidly changing global geopolitics.
Indonesia’s trade deal with US ‘still on’ despite reported rift
Jakarta Post
By Ruth Dea Juwita
December 11, 2025
Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Jakarta told the Post that Indonesia “must not be pushed into commitments that conflict with its sovereignty, its free-and-active foreign policy doctrine or international norms.”
Why Indonesia’s US deal could cost more than it delivers
Jakarta Post
By Yose Rizal Damuri, CSIS Jakarta
January 8, 2026
For Indonesia, which is deeply embedded in East Asian production networks and heavily exposed to Chinese trade and investment, a reciprocal trade agreement with the US could trigger chaotic and costly supply chain realignments. Learning from the Malaysia ART, Indonesia faces significant economic and security risks.
Indonesia’s Prabowo should think twice on a Trump trade pact
Asia Times Opinion
by Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
February 17, 2026
Indonesia could have more to lose than gain by entering a reciprocal tariff agreement with the United States. The obligations in similar agreements from the U.S. fall overwhelmingly on the non-US country, while the U.S. obligation is limited and conditional.
This asymmetry has generated strong backlash. In Malaysia, the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade sparked one of the most intense sovereignty debates in recent history, some describing it as neo-imperialism, a surrender of sovereignty to a foreign power, and recolonization. Indonesia’s foreign policy has long rested on independence and active engagement. Before signing a far-reaching ART, Jakarta should carefully weigh Malaysia’s experience. Tariff relief on a limited set of products may not justify constraints on sanctions policy, trade autonomy and strategic resource management. Sovereignty, once conceded in binding treaty language, is difficult to restore.
Indonesia’s trade deal with US risks straining its Middle East partnerships
Middle East Monitor
By Dr. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat and Shafa Kalila Aryanti, CELIOS
February 20, 2026
Indonesia has had diplomatic ties with several countries, spanning either months or multiple decades, in the Middle East that are threatened by article 5.1 of the ART – Libya, Yemen, Iran, and Iraq, respectively. The clause requires Indonesia to reflect US economic sanctions on third countries tied to American national security concerns; this conflicts with Indonesia’s long held free and active doctrine, which prioritises independence and active engagement across blocs.
CELIOS Files Formal Objection to the Indonesia–US Reciprocal Trade Agreement (ART)
The Center of Economic and Law Studies, Jakarta
February 23, 2026
CELIOS urges the government not to ratify the agreement in any form without a transparent, accountable review with full parliamentary and public participation. This is more than a standard trade deal: it affects trade, energy imports, mineral governance, digital regulation, data protection, taxation, industrial policy, and Indonesia’s foreign policy posture.
Indonesia-US Trade Agreement: Swapping Natural Resource Sovereignty for Illegal Reciprocal Tariffs?
Publish What You Pay Indonesia
February 23, 2026
The government should not ratify the ART Agreement due to myriad reasons. The tariff agreement (which are no longer justified under the US Supreme Court) is wholly imbalanced. The deal is merely an ‘entry point’ for massive critical mineral exploitation without protection of the long-term interests of the Indonesian people. And Article 5 threatens Indonesia’s sovereignty as an independent nation and future diplomatic efforts.
Illegal and unfair: Indonesia should not ratify Donald Trump’s tariff deals
Indonesia at Melbourne
By Aristyo Rizka Darmawa, lecturer in international law at Universitas Indonesia, Scholar at Australian National University
February 23, 2026
In light of the USC tariff ruling, Indonesia should not ratify the deal, as the basis of the treaty, tariffs by Executive Order, are illegal. All other nations are getting hit with a 15% tariff rate while the U.S. sorts out the legality of deals, higher than the rate agreed to in the ART. Further, there are major imbalances in the agreement, it is not ‘reciprocal’ at all.
The Indonesia-US Trade Agreement Threatens Indonesia’s Food Sovereignty and National Sovereignty
The Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI) (Indonesian Peasant Union)
February 23, 2026
These provisions extend recognition to the US regulatory system while overriding national food trade regulations. There is an imbalance of commitments, where Indonesia must guarantee certain volume of imports without the same guarantee for Indonesian exports to the US. one of the contents of the agreement that has the potential to harm farmers is the obligation to ratify UPOV 91, increasing farmers’ dependence on licensed commercial seeds and narrowing national seed sovereignty, a staple of smallholder farming.
The ART also risks narrowing the flexibility of Indonesia’s economic diplomacy, reducing the country’s ability to pursue an independent and active foreign policy, and placing national trade policy in the shadow of global geopolitical configurations determined by major powers, and potentially contradicts Law Number 37 of 1999, Indonesia’s foreign policy doctrine of independence and equality.
Indonesia for Global Justice
February 24, 2026
This trade agreement is not an achievement. Rather, it is a disaster for a sovereign nation forced to kneel under a new form of colonial domination by the United States.
Powerful quotes from Rahmat Maulana Sidik, Executive Director of Indonesia for Global Justice, Agung Prakoso, Program Manager for Food and Health Issues at IGJ, Muhamad Aryanang Isal, Program Manager for Digital Economy, Business and Human Rights at IGJ, Putri Rahmayati, Researcher at IGJ, and Cahaya Arga Putri Diponegoro, Researcher at IGJ.
Was 19% Ever the Real Issue? Economists Reframe Reciprocal Tariff Talks
Jakarta Globe
By Ria Fortuna Wijaya
February 24, 2026
Lili Yan Ing, Secretary General of the International Economic Association (IEA): “This is not a genuine trade negotiation outcome. It reflects pressure from a more powerful country.” “reforms must be driven by Indonesia’s own priorities, not external pressure… And if reforms are necessary, they must apply universally, not only to one trading partner.”
Economists agree that the framing of reducing tariffs from 32% to 19% obscures the fact that the baseline was 0%.
Trade and investment law expert James Losari: initial executive order imposing tariffs of up to 32% and 60% has created a psychological “shockwave.” “When very high numbers are introduced, anything lower appears acceptable… But we should have relied on the proper baseline.” Further, this deal creates sovereignty issues, as the provision on imposing economic sanctions on third countries “could link Indonesia’s economic policy to US national security decisions.”
Rizki Nauli Siregar of the Indonesian Economic Alliance: “ART is not mainly about tariffs. The real concern is in the clauses beyond tariffs… Trade policy must not weaken safeguards related to food safety and public health.”
Editorial: Why Indonesia Must Reject Prabowo’s Trade Pact With Trump
Omong Omong
February 24, 2026
This agreement is indefensible, both regarding the deeply asymmetrical substance and the disastrous timing. Particularly with the so-called Board of Peace meeting, the signing of this deal is characterized by calculated manipulation. Indonesia deserves economic cooperation rooted in equality, mutual benefit, not exploitation; solidarity, not submission.
Halal provisions in US-Indonesia trade deal draw pushback
The Star
February 24, 2026
“Is this an agreement or a form of colonization? […] Halal certification is being sidelined,” MUI deputy chair Muhammad Cholil Nafis wrote on X on Saturday.
Jakarta Post Editorial
February 24, 2026
Though the Supreme Court’s ruling against Trump’s sweeping tariffs has left Jakarta with less clarity regarding the newly signed U.S.-Indonesia ART, it has at least opened a door to the possibility of reworking the deal so its terms are fairer. What the Indonesian delegation signed in Washington will be hard to sell as a victory back in Jakarta.
Omong Kosong Daulat Energi dalam Kesepakatan RI-AS: Satya Bumi (The Empty Talk of Energy Sovereignty in the RI-US Agreement: Satya Bumi)
Betahita
By Aryo Bhawono
March 2, 2026
Satya Bumi urges the government to cancel the U.S.-Indonesia deal and the House of Representatives should reject approval for implementation. President Prabowo Subianto’s claims of energy sovereignty are merely rhetoric inconsistent with policy practice; the government is failing to protect people & the environment from impacts of extractive industry expansion, and is actively paving the way for foreign interest to gain greater access to Indonesia’s resources.
US reciprocal tariffs is illegal, Agreement of Reciprocal Trade must not be ratified (also available in Indonesian)
MKE
Indonesia Civil Society Coalition for Social Justice
March 3, 2026
The 19% tariff reduction that Indonesia receives in the U.S.-Indonesia deal is not commensurate with the surrender of self-sufficiency and sovereignty, and should not be ratified. The deal 1) is based on now-invalidated tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court decision, 2) is not a bilateral agreement, but a unilateral adjustment to U.S. economic and security interests, threatening Indonesia’s sovereignty as an independent country, 3) contradicts numerous national laws and regulations, 4) puts pressure on the Indonesian national economy from trade ‘balancing’ requirements, weakening the Indonesian rupiah. The coalition details detrimental impact to Indonesian people across several sectors: food and agriculture, fishery, intellectual property, digital, critical minerals, industrialization, and access to medicines.
CELIOS
March 11, 2025
A civil society coalition consisting of CELIOS, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ), Solidaritas Perempuan, and supported by WALHI Nasional and Trend Asia officially filed a lawsuit for Unlawful Government Act (Onrechtmatige Overheidsdaad) against the President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN) on March 11, 2026. The coalition argues that the President’s decision to sign the U.S.-Indonesia ART without approval from the House of Representatives or meaningful public participation violates Article 11 of the 1945 Constitution, as well as the General Principles of Good Governance as mandated in Indonesia’s administrative law framework. The coalition also submitted a provisional request to suspend implementation during the trial until a court decision is issued.
Malaysia
US trade deal strips Malaysia of economic control, says Azmin
Free Malaysia Today
November, 2025
Former Malaysian trade minister Azmin Ali: “Implementing the agreement would not make Malaysia stronger, it would mark the surrender of our sovereignty, our neutrality and our economic future.”
Malaysia defends Trump trade deal after critics warn it will compromise country’s sovereignty
The Guardian
By Carmela Fonbuena
November 4, 2025
Malaysia’s Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) expressed concerns that the bilateral agreement risks bypassing procurement laws and putting investments beyond oversight: “It gives away our right to decide on things,” Pushpan Murugiah, C4 Center’s chief executive officer said.
MPs push for RCI on US-Malaysia trade deal over sovereignty, transparency concerns
YahooNews
November 13, 2025
Subang MP Wong Chen: “We urge the government to advise the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to form a RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) to investigate all matters related to the signing of the agreement, particularly claims that Malaysia was coerced into negotiations… The RCI should also recommend a stronger governance framework, consultation mechanisms, and checks and balances for future trade negotiations,” he said in a press conference on behalf of Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli and Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
MalaysiaNow
November 19, 2025
Former Malaysian Attorney General Tommy Thomas: ‘”Never under the British empire did the colonial and imperialist power exercise such a degree of direct control and influence over Malaya’s economy. Hence, we will be much worse off after 68 years of Merdeka. The US trade treaty is far more sinister and insidious: it is neo-imperialism at its worst.’ The ART is the worst deal since Malaysia became independent (Merdeka).
Anwar should be charged with treason, says Mahathir as anger mounts over trade deal with US
MalaysiaNow
November 28, 2025
Former Prime Minister Mahathir: ‘the agreement commits Malaysia to concessions that “effectively put Malaysia under the control of the US”. “Malaysia has lost its independence. “This is what Anwar has done. It is treason. Anwar must be charged for being treacherous“’.
Mahathir lodged a police report which ‘cited breaches under various sections of the Penal Code, namely sections 124B, 124C and 124K, dealing with acts of sabotage and activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy’ including because of ART provisions re export of critical minerals such as rare earth elements ‘”All of these matters raise serious concerns, as in my opinion, they eliminate Malaysia’s power to determine foreign policy, economic policy and the use of national strategic resources independently and sovereignly,“ . . . He said any investigation should also probe elements of power abuse and negligence in discharging official duties, including breach of trust regarding decisions involving rare earths and critical minerals.’
Mahathir lodges police report against Malaysia PM Anwar over US trade deal
The Straits Times
December 2, 2025
More than 139 police reports have been lodged nationwide by individuals and non-governmental organisations calling for investigations into whether Mr Anwar violated national laws or the Constitution by signing this agreement. The deal empowers the US to override bumiputera (Malay and indigenous minorities) privileges, and any benefits given to bumiputera must also be given to the US.
Ex-army chief joins opposition to Anwar’s trade deal with Trump, vets to meet rulers
MalaysiaNow
December 5, 2026
Former Malaysian army chief Retired General Borhan Ahmad: Malaysia has “surrendered our sovereignty and integrity to a foreign power”. . . “Are we now being subjugated and recolonised, or being blackmailed into this lopsided deal?” . . . He reminded the government that Malaysia’s rapid economic growth was possible due to past sacrifices made “through blood and tears”. He warned that the sacrifices would be in vain if Malaysia agrees to succumb to demands by a foreign power. “So let us not sell the nation to become beggars again”’ and he and other former army personnel plan to bring the ART to the attention of the Conference of Rulers.
The ART of the deal lost in US-Malaysia pact
East Asia Forum
By Stewart Nixon
December 4, 2025
The deal does not create mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities but legitimises Trump’s punitive tariff agenda. There is little reason for Malaysia’s exporters to celebrate a slightly lower tariff rate. While ASEAN Chair, Kuala Lumpur placed its perceived self-interest over collective prosperity, undercutting its ability to negotiate on behalf of ASEAN. If this approach becomes the norm, it could irreparably damage Malaysia’s reputation as a free and constructive economic partner.
Medical sovereignty: Malaysia should not automatically accept US FDA approvals
The Star
By Brook Baker
January 12, 2026
If ratified, the U.S.-Malaysia deal would allow unfettered marketing of any biopharmaceutical product approved in the U.S. without further requirement, review, or consideration for differing epidemiological burdens, co-morbidities, common drug interactions, or health system realities. In an era subject to the political whims and unscientific views held by President Trump and Secretary Kennedy, global medicines regulator’s trust in the U.S. FDA has been shaken. Malaysia should reject the U.S.’ efforts to attack regulatory sovereignty, as should other countries.
Muhyiddin criticises ART deal with US, Rayer bites back with jibe about Perlis turmoil
The Star
By Ragananthini Bethasalam, Benjamin Lee
January 28, 2026
Former Prime Minister Muhyiddin: “Even after over 60 years of independence, we are facing an extraordinary situation where our country’s rights and sovereignty may be affected by the complacency and negligence of the current government when negotiating such an important issue”
Autoconvocatoria por la Suspension del Pago e Investigacion de la Deuda
February 4, 2026
Milei’s government aligns itself with US interests, especially those of the Trump administration, and endorses both imperialist aggression against Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti in our region, and the genocide in Gaza against the Palestinian people. They seek to build a country for the few, where financial and extractive industries prevail, while the majority live increasingly worse lives. This deal for US mineral exploitation, coupled with recent IMF debt payment and forced resignation of the head of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses responsible for poverty and inflation indices, demands rejection and solidarity with those that suffer the impacts of exploitation.
Malaysia-US pact surrenders Malaysia’s sovereignty
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (FOE Malaysia) / Consumers’ Association of Penang
October 30, 2025
This deal is not ‘reciprocal’, it is capitulation dressed as commerce; it strips away regulatory autonomy, subordinates foreign policy to Washington’s interests, constrains the ability to raise revenue, and commits to spending a staggering US$220 billion in the next decade. The U.S. market access promised in the deal is modest compared to these concessions. The federal government must not take any steps to ratify the agreement while a review and consultation proceeds, parliament should conduct a review of the proceedings with public hearings, and the Malaysian government should manage Malaysia’s own foreign policy and economy.
US-Malaysia trade deal threatens medicines regulation
Bilaterals.org
Australian Fair Trade Network (AFTINET)
January 15, 2026
The U.S.-Malaysia deal reflects a broader U.S. strategy of using trade coercion to reshape domestic regulation. Particularly, the deal restricts the rights of Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency to conduct its own assessments of safety, efficacy and quality, reflecting national health needs and regulatory priorities.
Taiwan
Taiwan Just Cut a Trade Deal With the US. Is that Good or Bad News?
The Diplomat
By Brian Hoe
February 3, 2026
The opposition coalition between KMT and TPP accuse the Lai administration of degrading the “Silicon Shield,” hollowing out the semiconductor industry for little in return.
Farmers are wary that U.S. purchases of agricultural products with 0 tariffs will make them uncompetitive. The legacy of the “Rice Bomber” terrorist attacks after Taiwan joined the WTO should not be repeated.
KMT politicians have increasingly alleged that the United States is uninterested in Taiwan’s defense and simply exploits Taiwan for financial gain through the sale of useless arms. New KMT chair Cheng Li-wun has been especially vocal, suggesting in comments that the Lai administration provokes China through arms purchases from the U.S.
Taiwanese fear betrayal as Trump bows to Xi
The Times (London)
By Richard Spencer
February 19, 2026
The Trump administration is undermining Taiwan with tariffs, agreeing arms deals with its government, but also seeking closer ties with Xi through trade talks.
Other Deals
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Congolese activists decry US-Congo mineral deal
Peoples Dispatch
By Nicholas Mwangi
April 20, 2025
The Congolese constitution nominally vests ownership of the country’s land and resources in the state, but the lack of popular or parliamentary oversight raises profound questions. As Kambale Musavuli, a Congolese analyst pointed out to Peoples Dispatch, “Can you imagine that a whole country is making a decision on a mineral deal, and Parliament never discussed it?”
Civil society actors, particularly from mineral-rich Katanga province, have issued statements condemning any mineral-for-security arrangements that bypass the Congolese people. Yet their voices have been conspicuously absent from international headlines. Which denies its right as a sovereign nation with its own people, political will and agency.
Stewart Muhindo, a member of the civil society movement LUCHA, echoes this sentiment. “Congolese are not enthusiastic about this deal. We are pessimistic. Foreign interventions have done nothing for years. We don’t think solutions for our problems can come from other countries. We need to build our country ourselves.”
DRC: To finalize the mining agreement, US elected officials are demanding guarantees of transparency
RFI Afrique
May 5, 2026
Jean-Pierre Okenda, a researcher on mining governance, questions who is negotiating on behalf of the country, what demands have been made and conceded, and what are the main points of the offer made to Americans on exploitation of natural resources. Okenda cautions to avoid repeating mistakes of the past, particularly the 2008 Chinese contract exchanging minerals for infrastructure: “In the end, Congo lost out to the Chinese. We don’t have the infrastructure today. The second thing we lost is that the agreement was extremely unbalanced.”
El Pais
By Glòria Pallarès
May 20, 2025
Jean-Pierre Okenda of La Sentinelle des Ressources Naturelles argues that “local authorities see the DRC as a prize, a mere source of raw materials to be exploited for their private benefit, as in the era of Leopold II… Systematic and institutionalized corruption is a real cancer.” Any agreement between the U.S. and DRC should strengthen the stability of Congolese democratic institutions, not undermine them.
More Pressure Needed to Secure Congo’s Peace
Foreign Policy
By Rebecca Kabugho, Sasha Lezhnev, John Prendergast\
January 27, 2026
There have been no costs for Rwanda’s escalating invasion or the DRC government’s backing of armed groups. The cost-benefit calculation for both governments is to continue to pillage eastern DRC through proxy war machines, make deals with the United States, and face no consequences. In order for the U.S. to access Congo’s minerals and to stop the warring parties’ continued defiance of the Trump-brokered Washington Accords, the Trump administration should issue a series of escalating sanctions on Rwandan, Congolese, and UAE-based networks undermining peace.
Opposition grows in Congo over US mineral deal
Associated Press
By Saleh Mwanamil Ongo
February 10, 2026
“We are assuming our responsibility as Congolese citizens to protect the sovereignty of our country and preserve our heritage for future generations,” said Jean-Marie Kalonji, one of the lawyers asking the Constitutional Court to annul the strategic partnership agreement .
There is also the fear that the deal will mainly benefit President Tshisekedi. Moïse Katumbi, the main opposition leader, has raised concerns about how it could be implemented given the security situation in the mineral-rich east, and has called for a national dialogue as a better approach to investors.
Archbishop Fulgence Muteba, president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, argued that “this clearly amounts to sacrificing the development of the population and confiscating the happiness of future generations” for the sake of saving a regime.
Residents in rebel-controlled territories say they don’t see any major commitment by the U.S. to restoring peace and stability. “We think this agreement will generate more conflict instead of actually providing solutions because the actors are not sincere,” said youth activist Christopher Muyisa.
Kinshasa: Constitutional Court asked to invalidate Washington agreement on strategic minerals
Friends of the Congo
By Akilimali Chomachoma
February 12, 2026
A group of Congolese lawyers and human rights defenders, alongside NGOs, has asked the Constitutional Court to annul the strategic partnership agreement signed with the United States on December 4, 2025. Their petition was filed on Wednesday, June 21, 2025.
“The aforementioned agreement was never submitted to the Congolese people, as the primary sovereign authority, nor was its content disclosed,” states the petition. “The people find it difficult to know what the Congolese state has actually committed to, and what the interests and future consequences of this agreement are; In short, our ability to manage our strategic minerals and our sovereignty are being undermined,” the document continues.
Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up
Mongabay
By Elodie Toto
February 12, 2026
These agreements are negotiated in total secrecy, bypassing parliamentary and public oversight.“This is a race for minerals at any cost,” said Jean-Claude Mputu, a spokesperson for a coalition of civil society organizations called Le Congo n’est pas à vendre, French for “Congo is not for sale.
“In this race,” Mputu said, “African states and all countries that have minerals are the big losers because no promises have been made on human rights. None. Human rights, justice and environmental protection are the biggest blind spots in these agreements.”
“Some companies we are in contact with say that, on the American side, these deals only serve to enrich Trump’s friends and do not reflect American values like human rights, democracy and justice.”
European Union
EU-US agreement: An economic Munich to the benefit of the far right
Bilaterals.org
Le Club de Mediapart
By Maxime Combes, Economist specializing in climate, trade, and investment policies
July 28, 2025
Brussels has capitulated to Donald Trump’s predatory demands, shattering ‘European strategic autonomy.’ It is 1) a predatory, brutal, and asymmetrical “agreement”, 2) voluntary extorsion propelling export dependency, 3) misunderstanding the moment as a temporary setback instead of a new era of Trump using ‘national security’ to unilaterally rewrite the rules of globalization, 4) a victory for the far right, 5) a torpedoing of EU climate policy, and 6) an extralegal agreement lacking text, treaty, or legal existence.
Now that countries have capitulated on tariffs, Trump will be back for more
Al Jazeera
By Nick Dearden and Melanie Foley
July 29, 2025
Governments fell over one another to offer concessions to Donald Trump as his August 1 tariff deadline loomed, and the U.S.-EU deal is a one-sided pact that changes the balance of power between two of the largest economic powers in the world with little resistance. While the provisions of different trade deals vary, they all follow the same strategy: Bullying governments to change their rules and regulations in favour of US corporate interests, especially those of oligarchs who surround the president. The only way to protect respective economies and push Trump out of power (as millions of Americans want) is to stand up to the bullying; he does not respect weakness and any alliances are fickle and temporary at best.
European Commission again prioritises trade over wellbeing of EU population
Bilaterals.org
European Coordination Via Campesina
July 31, 2025
The U.S.-EU trade framework is disastrous on several levels: it supports and legitimises Trump’s use of tariffs as a weapon of colonialism and deregulation, as well as the huge purchases of fossil energy and military equipment in the US, which are incompatible with EU environmental legislation, and also threatens living conditions of consumers and farmers by opening the European market to US agri-food products with low quality standards.
The European Commission has decided to prioritise trade interests over the general interest of European populations.
Bilaterals.org
European Coordination Via Campesina
August 28, 2025
If implemented, the U.S.-EU trade framework agreement could result in a substantial influx of U.S. agricultural products that fail to meet the EU’s existing environmental, health, and quality standards and which would enter the European market free of customs duties. Further capitulations in the framework show that the EU is willing to exchange deregulation, increasing carbon-intensive products, extreme intellectual property rights, entrenched export-driven industries, debt, and human rights for tariff relief.
TACD reacts to the U.S.-EU “deal”: not a win for consumers
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue
September 23, 2025
Leading consumer and digital rights groups making up the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue are concerned by the ongoing transatlantic trade tensions between the EU and the U.S., despite the recent joint statement announcing a “deal.”
Less than two weeks after the joint statement was published, the U.S. threatened tariffs against the EU over the bloc’s antitrust fine against Google.
The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) strongly opposes the use of coercive trade tactics to undermine public interest regulations and calls for a renewed commitment to fair, transparent, and values-driven cooperation between the EU and the U.S.
TACD raises concerns on use of tariff threats to increase medicine prices in Europe
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue
February 10, 2026
The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), a network of consumer rights, public health, intellectual property and trade policy experts from the U.S. and Europe, opposes the use of coercive trade measures to force higher medicine prices in Europe. TACD stresses that raising prices abroad will not lower prices for U.S. patients but will instead further boost pharmaceutical industry profits and undermine policies that keep medicine prices in check.
India
Focus on the Global South
Open Letter by Forum for Trade Justice
February 10, 2026
The Forum for Trade Justice, a coalition of farmers’ organisations, trade unions, traders, health and environmental groups, and other civil society actors, warns that the benefits of these deals may come at a significant cost. In exchange for tariff concessions, India is expected to further open its markets to the EU and the US, including sensitive sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services. This could also significantly constrain India’s policy space and its ability to shape independent development pathways. The letter highlights issues regarding agriculture and dairy, the weaponization of standards and technical processes, manufacturing, services, the digital economy, intellectual property rights and access to medicine, and the secrecy of the dealmaking process and further contents.
Bharatiya Kisan Union opposes deal with US, to burn effigies of Modi, Trump
The Hindu
February 10, 2026
The Bharatiya Kisan Union has announced a series of protests following the trade agreements with the United States and European Union, the details of which remain hidden behind a “veil of secrecy.” Imports of soybean oil will have a devastating impact on farmers already in crisis, and the non-disclosure of negotiation documents imply the government is hiding the details to contain nationwide protests.
Farmers mobilize nationwide against India-US trade pact
Devdiscourse | Bilaterals.org Stop ISDS Platform
February 24, 2026
The Samyukta kisan Morcha have organized a nationwide protest against the U.S.-India trade agreement, among other policies. The protest is intended to highlight the dangers of trade pacts and corporate-favorable policies.
Apple farmers’ body demands scrapping of India-US trade deal
Hindustan Times
February 28, 2026
The AFFI will mobilize apple growers and farmers for the nationwide protest. The India-U.S. trade agreement, “which is clearly an unequal treaty, is a major surrendering of India’s economic interests by PM Narendra Modi and will prove a death knell for apples domestically produced in the country,” convener AFFI and legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said. The AFFI will also mobilize apple farmers from Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and hold a demonstration outside the Parliament in March 2026.
Punjab assembly passes resolution condemning proposed India–US trade deal
Hindustan Times
March 11, 2026
The Punjab Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution condemning the proposed trade U.S.India trade agreement. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann warned that the pact could severely impact farmers and the agricultural economy, but no state government has been informed or consulted thus far. The average U.S. farm is 200x the size of the average Punjab farm, and U.S. subsidies are significantly higher; further, intellectual property provisions related to seeds could restrict farmers’ traditional practice of saving seeds for future crops.
Morocco
US eyes minerals in occupied Western Sahara
Bilaterals.org
Western Sahara Research Watch
February 13, 2026
Seeking to position itself as a key supplier of strategic minerals for Western powers, Morocco has signed a new agreement with the United States that covers Western Sahara’s waters and the critical minerals harboured there.
“By framing the territory’s land and waters as part of a minerals deal with Morocco, the United States risks treating international law as an obstacle to be bargained away. The entry of the US into the occupied territory undermines any peace talks that seek to fulfil the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination.”
Philippines
PH-US critical minerals pact: A new wave of imperialist plunder
Bulatlat
By Arnold Padilla
February 12, 2026
By aligning the minerals sector with US supply chain needs amid competition with China, the Philippines risks subordinating national resource policy to a foreign industrial and security strategy. Imperialist competition over oil resources has caused severe oppression of communities and massive environmental degradation, and has triggered wars, conflicts, and occupations. It is likely that the same could happen with critical minerals.
It is a perpetuation of US colonial and neocolonial exploitation of our lands, labor, and raw materials for US economic and military priorities instead of serving our aspirations for national industrialization. Only by asserting national sovereignty can we make certain that the development of critical minerals does not come at the expense of local communities’ and sovereign rights.
PH, US ink critical minerals deal bodes ill for the environment, defenders – groups
Butalat
By Josiah David Quising
February 12, 2026
Environmental advocates… warned that expanding mining under the banner of renewable energy risks deepening environmental degradation, displacing communities, and weakening safeguards, particularly in mineral-rich areas already affected by deforestation, water pollution, and human rights.
United Kingdom
‘A Trump Trade Deal Would Open the UK’s Doors to the Big Tech Robber Barons’
Byline Times
By Nick Dearden
April 4, 2025
Trump is a bully, partly using tariffs as a revenue raiser to cut taxes on his oligarch friends, but also using them to blackmail foreign governments into making concessions that run counter to their interests. Trump wants the rest of the world to pay for tax cuts for America’s super rich.
The UK has tried twice to agree to a trade deal with the U.S., the pre-Brexit TTIP and post-Brexit US-UK bilateral deal. Even a digital-only deal that escapes much of the criticism from previous failures would carry serious threats for UK citizens, workers, public services, environment, and democracy.
Can we stop pretending a trade deal with Trump will be a gamechanger for the UK. It won’t
The Guardian
By Martin Kettle
April 17, 2025
Britain should not necessarily refuse every sort of free trade agreement with the U.S., but there may be options that better suit Labour’s purpose. Sources close to the vice-president were quoted as saying he will insist that Britain must repeal hate speech laws on LGBTQ+ people as the price of an agreement. If that really is the U.S. administration’s view, then it would be an undisguisedly brutal example of how this White House sees trade deals.
Trump seeks a world trade order based on might is right, and a free trade deal with a zero-sum negotiator like that can only be fundamentally defensive.
Thousands protest against Trump’s second UK state visit
BBC News
By Ashitha Nagesh, Nick Johnson
September 17, 2025
A group of more than 50 unions and charities amassing a crowd of around 5,000 protesting President Trump’s state visit. One protestor called the visit “appalling,” adding: “It’s all about the trade deal.”
Anti-Trump Protesters Take Aim at ‘Naive’ US-UK AI Deal
Wired
By Natasha Bernal
September 18, 2025
Thousands marched in London to protest President Donald Trump’s second state visit. Among them were many environmental activists unhappy with Britain’s new AI deal with the US.
Special relationship? There can be no such thing with a snake like Trump
The Guardian
By Aditya Chakrabortty
September 25, 2025
For the best part of a year, Starmer has hugged Trump as close as he can, and the promises made by Trump are empty. The investments in UK data centers won’t deliver good jobs, they are akin to “American military bases on British soil”, says Cecilia Rikap, an AI expert at University College London. They are spaces beyond oversight (the government doesn’t even know how many datacentres are on British soil) and their owners will demand low taxes.
The UK risks becoming a vassal state, tying ourselves into Silicon Valley’s AI infrastructure: its datacentres, its cloud computing. The plumbing and pipelines of our information economy are owned and run through Trump’s US. As the president flew into Stansted, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Jon Cunliffe, warned that the US could easily “weaponise” its dominance of the international payments system, flicking a “kill switch” to disable countries for resisting White House diktat.
Big pharma is at war with the UK, and the government can’t back down now
The Guardian
By Nick Dearden
October 1, 2025
Big Pharma uses every opportunity to push back on NHS’ power, and Trump is their latest tactic. The industry is leveraging Trump’s need to be seen as addressing drug prices in the U.S. and willingness to levy tariffs to push their long-term goals of higher prices everywhere.
What will be the cost of Keir Starmer’s new medicines deal with Donald Trump? British lives
The Guardian
By Aditya Chakrabortty
December 11, 2025
More than £3bn that could have been used for UK patients will go to big pharma for its branded products – money for care siphoned off for profit.
The pharma deal with the US is woefully short-sighted
Politics Home
By Iqbal Mohamed MP
March 3, 2026
The U.S.-UK pharmaceuticals deal looks set to cost the NHS billions each year for little to no discernible benefit. Further, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed it will seek dangerous changes to rules and legislation that gives government ministers the power to raise the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s value-for-money threshold, exposing the NHS to further corporate lobbying while closing the door on parliamentary debate or votes. Simultaneously, the Trump deal will dismantle NHS safeguards against overspending on medicines.
Diverting £1bn from existing NHS budgets could cause over 4,500 additional deaths every year. With a commitment to double spending on medicines to 0.6 per cent of the UK’s GDP, that would mean an eye-watering £9bn extra each year.
With such dire possible consequences for the health and lives of NHS patients, Parliament must have the final say over whether we’ll accept Trump and big pharma’s bullying. If we give in this time around, they’ll only be coming back for more.