Bilaterals.org

bilaterals.org was initiated in September 2004 by the Asia-Pacific Research Network, GATT Watchdog, Global Justice Ecology Project, GRAIN, IBON Foundation and XminusY. What brought these groups together was a shared concern about the growth of bilateral trade and investment deals outside of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and a feeling that these less visible agreements were "under the radar" of many social justice activists. The bilaterals.org website was thus conceived as a kind of collaborative clearinghouse on the internet where people could find and post their own information and analysis about bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment treaties being negotiated and signed across the globe, and who is doing what about them. The site’s goal is really to support social movements resisting the imposition of these deals, in a way that builds bridges between isolated efforts and shows the bigger, often global, dynamics at play.