Read more: www.citizen.org/article/crit...
12.03.2026 16:58
👍 1
🔁 2
💬 0
📌 0
Critical minerals aren’t just about the energy transition; they’re central to military and defense supply chains.
The U.S.-DRC agreement locks Congo into someone else’s security and industrial strategy, even as violence and human rights abuses on the ground continue unabated.
Big corporations can hire lobbyists to avoid paying tariffs, while small businesses go under.
Tariff exemptions have become a highway for corruption.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/o...
Indonesia’s ability to regulate the digital ecosystem is significantly limited by so-called ‘non-discrimination’ provisions that are increasingly being (mis)used by Big Tech companies to target anti-monopoly and other laws, leading to a less safe and less competitive digital economy.
Big Tech is the real winner in Trump’s U.S.-Indonesia deal
Indonesia cannot tax Big Tech companies, stop large digital platforms from cannibalizing the local news industry, or regulate exports of personal data to protect privacy rights of Indonesians.
Trump threatening to cut off *all trade* with Spain because they oppose the U.S.-Israeli invasion of Iran is the latest proof that his trade policies are not about working people.
They’re about political power and corporate profits.
Congress needs to restore assistance and training for workers whose jobs get sent overseas.
It’s time to stop stalling and join @replindasanchez.bsky.social in bringing back Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Tariff refunds are becoming a new profit center for Big Tech.
Some AI companies are offering to process refund claims in exchange for up to 20% of the payouts.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
From delaying access to affordable medicines to forcing the import of U.S. coal and "fast-fashion" waste, Trump‘s Indonesia deal undermines public health and climate goals.
But it’s great for Big Tech.
Luckily, there is some counter-programming on offer.
Ambassador Katherine Tai’s new org released a progressive vision that centers working people, not "trickle-down" economics. A plan for actual working people, moving past corporate-driven deals to stop the race to the bottom.
What’s actually on the menu?
💊 Big Pharma monopoly power grabs.
⛏️ Neocolonial "critical mineral" raids on vulnerable communities.
💰 Blatant grift, like tariff exemptions for CEOs who gifted the President gold statues.
Transparency? Nowhere to be found.
The "most transparent admin ever" is currently being sued by @publiccitizen.bsky.social just to get basic info on trade officials’ cozy texts with Big Tech lobbyists.
What we know will happen: grandiose self-congratulation and a doubling down on using tariffs as a cudgel.
Instead of holding corporate interests accountable for rigging deals, expect the admin to scapegoat immigrants and other countries. 🤥
Trump’s annual Trade Policy Agenda is due on March 1, and the timing couldn't be more embarrassing.
Days after the Supreme Court nuked his authority to slap tariffs at whim, the administration is in total damage-control mode. 🔥
With the tariffs repealed, the promised benefits of the proposed trade deal have vanished for Indonesia, while the costs remain: painful concessions to Big Tech, Big Pharma, and a colonial-style resource grab.
Our explainer breaks down the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement ⬇️
www.citizen.org/article/crit...
US officials say the goal is “peace.” But the agreement says the goal is minerals.
The cost? Congolese sovereignty, democratic oversight, and community livelihoods.
Our Director, Melinda St. Louis, has the breakdown: www.citizen.org/news/scotus-...
BREAKING: The Supreme Court just blocked Trump’s “emergency” tariffs!
Faking an emergency to weaponize tariffs for the benefit your corporate cronies is not how this is supposed to work.
We’re glad SCOTUS is providing at least a small check on this lawless grifter president.
Imagine calling it a “partnership” when Indonesia gets:
⛔️Unsafe working conditions
💰Wages too low to buy clean drinking water
🎣Forests bulldozed and fishing grounds poisoned
👷♂️Forced labor and union crackdowns
While the U.S. and foreign corporations rake in profits.
Read the Principles for Access to Medicines and Trade: www.citizen.org/news/more-th...
Teal background, highlighted quote: "Pro-corporate, pro-monopoly models reinforced by the current trade order and exploited by the powerful are failing the world. Health must be a guarantee, not a bargaining chip." Blue background with caption: Over 100 organizations around the world detail principles for trade that ensure access to medicines."
The Trump administration is using U.S. trade power and extreme tariffs to bully other countries into binding agreements that undermine affordable and readily available access to medicines.
Experts from around the world offer an alternate vision:
The recent US-Argentina trade deal marks a new low in weaponizing trade policy for this administration.
Trump is bullying other countries into adopting intellectual property rules that will line Big Pharma's pockets at our expense.
