Trade: WTO edges toward "a la carte" system as plurilateralism gains ground (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
Major industrialized nations and certain developing countries on 23 June seemingly refused to engage in reforming the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system, signaling a willingness to allow the status-quo to continue, with a paralyzed enforcement mechanism, according to people familiar with the development.

Trade: Trump's threat over DST deepens trust deficit in global trade (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
United States President Donald Trump on 26 June threatened to impose a 100% tariff on countries that impose a digital services tax (DST) on American companies, irrespective of any agreed trade deals - a development that might be hailed by the leading US digital giants Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, said analysts familiar with the development.

Climate: Shifting goalposts through new roadmaps & widening inequality (PRIV)
(Hilary Kung, Kuala Lumpur)
Experts and developing country negotiators spoke of how the goalposts of the climate regime are shifted with new roadmaps, while mitigation scenarios by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) lock in and widen inequities between developed and developing countries.