Globalization and Trade

The May trade deficit surged to its highest level since March 2025, driven in part by AI-related imports and undercutting Trump’s goal of reducing the trade gap.

Former Ecuadorian officials, prominent international jurists, and former UN experts have warned that a planned Ecuador-UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty would reintegrate Ecuador into the investor-state dispute settlement system, which allows foreign corporations to sue governments for lost “future profits.”

CEPR commends Colombia for its leadership in advancing discussions over investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in recent weeks.

CEPR has updated and relaunched a dashboard to track the debt distress and climate vulnerability of low- and middle-income countries around the world.

The effects of the war on Iran should be clearly evident in the March inflation data.

ISDS allows corporations to sue governments over lost “future profits” when the companies argue that regulations impede or prevent their planned projects.

A global coalition of 220 prominent experts have signed a public letter addressed to Colombian President Gustavo Petro urging the country to lead domestic and international action to roll back investor-state dispute settlement provisions in trade agreements.

While short-term economic data may appear similar, key differences in inflation, labor market strength, affordability pressures, and long-term policy choices suggest the Trump and Biden economies are meaningfully different.

The Trump administration claims that the economy is “roaring like never before” after the “nightmare” they inherited from the Biden administration. But the numbers tell a very different story.

The year-over-year inflation rate for February is likely to inch higher, which should not be cause for concern. The war in Iran could change that picture.