WITA’s Friday Exchange: Waiting on a Trade Deal: The Long and Winding Road to a Trade Deal with India
In the latest episode of the Friday Exchange, our former trade negotiators unpack the trade deal everyone has been waiting for – a U.S.-India bilateral trade deal, announced by President Trump on social media, following right on the heels of the EU’s trade deal with India. How does this trade agreement stack up with the framework agreements on reciprocal trade reached with other countries; what does the US-India deal mean for Russian and Iranian oil imports; how does the agreement deal with the thorny issues of Indian technical barriers to trade and standards; what about the WTO e-commerce moratorium?
Introduction: Kenneth Levinson, CEO, WITA – The International Trade Membership Association
Daniel Mullaney, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East
Dawn Shackleford, President at Looking Glass Trade, LLC; former Executive Director for Trade Agreements Policy & Negotiations, Department of Commerce; former Assistant USTR for WTO & Multilateral Affairs
Arun Venkataraman, Partner, Covington & Burling; former Assistant Secretary of Commerce & Director General of the US & Foreign Commercial Service; and former Director for India and associate general council at USTR
Watch the Video on YouTube | Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Recorded at 10:45 AM ET on 02/05/2026 | WITA
WTO Matters: WTO Reform – Part 1
Featured Speakers:
Ambassador Joseph Barloon, Deputy United States Trade Representative and Chief of Mission for the Permanent Mission of the United States to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador Clare Kelly, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador Petter Ølberg, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Norway to the World Trade Organization
Ambassador Matthew Wilson, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Barbados to the United Nations, World Trade Organization and other International Organizations in Geneva
Moderator: Angela Ellard, Senior Advisor (non-resident), Center for Strategic and International Studies; former Deputy Director General, World Trade Organization
Watch the Full Event Video Here
EU Submission On WTO Reform
The following communication, dated 19 January 2026, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the European Union.
1 INTRODUCTION
The WTO is at a critical and, in fact, an existential juncture. Without a strong political commitment by the Membership to a process of deep and comprehensive reform, the organization will slide into irrelevance, and with that the rules-based global trading system will further erode. We welcome the discussions that took place in preparation for MC14 and the active engagement of Members in this urgent task. The EU thanks Ambassador Petter Ølberg for his tireless efforts and dedication as Facilitator on WTO Reform. The EU welcomes his valuable report (JOB/GC/483) as a helpful starting point for further work and welcomes the opportunity to contribute to further shaping the draft work plan post-MC14.
The present paper sets out the EU’s vision for a substantially transformed WTO and calls for a reform centred on three pillars: predictability, fairness and flexibility. It builds on and complements the Facilitator’s report.
Like many Members, the EU is approaching MC14 as a “Reform Ministerial” and a stepping stone towards a fundamental reform that should take place between MC14 and MC15. The Annex contains the EU proposal for a ministerial decision and concrete suggestions for a work plan for post-MC14 work on reform.
Read the Full Communication Here
01/19/2026 | World Trade Organization
The Case for Policy Transformation to Avoid Losing the Techno-Economic-Trade War With China
The United States has been the world’s dominant techno-economic power for the last 125 years since it overtook the United Kingdom and Germany in the late 1800s. But in recent decades, while being the leader has been better than being a laggard, it also has induced complacency, much as the United Kingdom lost its grip on industrial leadership.
Based on extensive analysis, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) predicts that China will soon surpass the United States in a broad array of what we term national power industries: advanced, traded-sector industries that are critical to economic strength and national security. Yet, policymakers in Washington so far have advanced only limited and cautious responses that fail to address the core challenge America faces from China.
Faced with the mounting evidence that America will soon be displaced as the global techno-economic power, policymakers, analysts, and advisers tend to respond in one of three ways. The first and the most common reaction is denial, claiming that the situation is not really that bad. China may be good in steel, consumer electronics, telecom equipment, clean energy, drones, electric vehicles, and high-speed rail, but that’s all. So, while America might need to tweak some of its policies and programs to stay ahead, our basic approaches to technological innovation and economic management will largely suffice as they are.
02/02/2026 | Robert D. Atkinson | Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Winds Of Protectionism In The Shadow Of Critical Minerals
As we leave the first quarter of the twenty-first century behind, the picture painted by global developments is crystal clear: In the coming era, minerals will be at the forefront of the power elements shaping the world’s political and economic balances.
The primary driving force behind this development is the global energy transition process initiated to combat climate change. Worldwide, there is a massive and continuous surge in demand for critical minerals, which are indispensable for the transition to green energy and the interconnected digitalization processes. According to the International Energy Agency, the mineral demand required by clean energy technologies to achieve the Paris Agreement goals will quadruple over the next 15 years.
On the other hand, it is estimated that the global urban population will more than double by 2050, triggering a massive demand for raw materials to construct urban infrastructure. Consequently, humanity will need to extract more mineral ore from the depths of the earth in the next 30 years than it has produced in the last 70,000 years.
02/01/2026 | Dr. Nejat Tamzok | Eurasia Review
When Will We Get the Tariffs Ruling?
The following is an excerpt:
Although the challengers prevailed in the lower courts, those courts put their rulings on hold to give the Supreme Court time to weigh in. This has allowed the Trump administration to continue to levy billions of dollars in tariffs while the litigation continues. And it is because of those billions of dollars in tariffs that businesses are hoping that the court will act quickly – both so that they can stop paying the tariffs if the court strikes them down and because they fear that, as the tariff revenue that the government collects rises, it will make the process of refunding that revenue increasingly complicated.
There are several possible reasons why, despite the ongoing tariff payments, the justices may not be in as much of a hurry to act as the litigants (and other importers) would like. The first is that, despite the justices’ apparent skepticism at oral argument, the majority could be writing an opinion that upholds the tariffs, in which case no refunds would be necessary.
But even if the justices do strike down some or all of the tariffs, that might still not be enough to spur them to issue an opinion soon. As I noted in an earlier story, they could leave the question of refunds for the lower courts, in which case – at least in the justices’ view – an additional month or two to finalize their ruling might not make much of a difference. Along the same lines, they could decide that the tariffs are invalid but hold either that they will not apply going forward (ruling out refunds for tariffs that had already been paid) or delay the implementation of their ruling, giving Congress time to enact a solution.
Whatever the result, one thing is clear: the court acts on its own timeline, rather than on the schedule that litigants, court watchers, and the press might prefer. And there is no evidence that pressure from these groups (or any others) will change that.
01/29/2026 | Amy Howe | SCOTUS Blog
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