News Updates

CONTINENTAL ID:

Brazil’s new ID card can replace passports in 8 countries

REGIONAL MOBILITY AROSS CONTINENT

FTN News, June 1, 2026 – Brazil’s new National Identity Card, known as the CIN (Carteira de Identidade Nacional), has been formally recognised as a valid travel document for entry into eight South American countries under a new Mercosur agreement, marking a significant step toward easier regional mobility across the continent.
The agreement applies to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru….
The card includes a QR code and a machine-readable zone (MRZ), features designed to comply with international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). These features are intended to speed up identity checks at border posts and airports.

COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS:

A Conversation With Ambassador Jamieson Greer

“FROM NORTH AMERICA. THAT’S WHERE WE WANT TO HAVE IT.”

“…more aligned with, you know, our type of external trade policy…”

CFR PRESIDENT MICHAEL FROMAN: Do you see this as the beginning of a platform, where you bring together a number of different countries to have a common set of rules, vis-à-vis China?
….
GREER: ….I mean, ultimately, at the end of the day, frankly, for national security reasons, I want to be—I want to have our supply chain sourced from this hemisphere, right? From North America. That’s where we want to have it.
I mean, just imagine—I mean, we all lived through COVID. And we couldn’t get certain things from Asia, right? We couldn’t get chips. And so we couldn’t sell the cars. We couldn’t make the cars. These are all serious problems. So whether it’s a pandemic, or a conflict, or other kinds of things….So, regardless of that, we want to have supply chains here as much as possible. And so that does mean that if we can have a group of countries that are more aligned with, you know, our type of external trade policy, it’s much easier to say, all right….
So I think that there is a world where that happens, whether it’s really formal or something that organically develops with our trade policy.

EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION:

Eurasia Emerges as Iran’s New Trade Frontier

Financial Tribune, June 1, 2026 – As geopolitical tensions and regional security risks continue to reshape trade flows, Iran is increasingly looking north. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has emerged as a key pillar of Tehran’s strategy to diversify export markets, strengthen economic resilience and reduce dependence on vulnerable trade routes. The recent participation of Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Atabak in the EAEU summit in Astana underscored the growing importance of the bloc in Iran’s regional economic vision.

“This organization is dying”: Lukashenka demands greater EAEU integration while partners stay indifferent

Belsat, June 1, 2026 – “But let’s be honest, key issues—regulating the common financial market, trade barriers, electronic digital signatures, and others—have been postponed. We’re talking about artificial intelligence, but practical issues like digital signatures have been put aside,” said Alyaksandr Lukashenka….
“No one will say, ‘We really don’t want to integrate more broadly; it’s dangerous for us.’ So, other leaders will simply remain silent, as always. They don’t react to Lukashenka’s attacks because they understand that closer integration truly threatens the independence of these countries. In fact, they are ignoring many decisions of similar post-Soviet institutions dominated by Russia,” Vital Tsyhankou emphasizes.

NORTH AMERICA:

The AI Boom Has a Copper Problem—and NovaRed Wants to Solve It

AI, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND STRATEGIC VULNERABILITY

Canada, U.S. moving in similar direction

Ritz Herald, May 30, 2026 – Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a software revolution, but it is equally an infrastructure story. AI requires data centers. Data centers require electricity. Electricity requires transmission lines, transformers, substations, cooling systems, backup generation, and extensive grid upgrades. Copper sits at the center of virtually every stage of that process.
S&P further projected that demand from AI-related infrastructure and defense applications could each roughly triple by 2040, together accounting for approximately four million metric tons of additional copper consumption….
Copper is no longer viewed solely through the lens of rising demand. Increasingly, it is also being viewed through the lens of supply-chain resilience and strategic vulnerability.
That reality helps explain why Canada has become central to the conversation. The Canadian government officially includes copper among its 34 designated critical minerals, citing its importance across industries ranging from renewable energy and electric vehicles to telecommunications, medical technology, and defense systems.
Washington is moving in a similar direction.

Canada PM backs ‘fortress North America’ ahead of US trade talks

‘A FORTRESS NORTH AMERICA IS IN EVERYONE’S INTEREST’

Digital Journal | AFP, May 28, 2026 – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stressed his country’s importance to the US economy on Thursday, urging closer cooperation as talks on revising the North American free trade agreement face roadblocks….
Carney has been one of the most prominent critics of Trump’s leadership, but on Thursday sought to emphasize the benefit of regional economic integration ahead of a July 1 deadline to revise the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

USMCA Critical Minerals Alignment: North America’s 2026 Strategic Shift

Digital Journal (Australia), May 28, 2026 – A credible North American critical minerals framework would need to rest on four interconnected pillars:
1. Tariff Harmonisation– Aligning import duties on processed minerals to close arbitrage pathways through the lowest-tariff member state.
2. Investment Facilitation – Extending preferential access to U.S. incentive programmes, including relevant provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act framework, to qualifying North American processing operations.
3. Regulatory Convergence – Harmonising environmental review and permitting standards to reduce approval timelines and lower the cost of cross-border project development.
4. Supply Chain Resilience Protocols – Establishing coordinated stockpiling thresholds, emergency procurement mechanisms, and shared early-warning infrastructure for supply disruption scenarios.

EURASIA:

Eurasian Economic Forum focuses on AI application

Xinhua (China), May 29, 2026 – The fifth Eurasian Economic Forum opened here Thursday to explore the role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting sustainable economic development….
Russia, with such advantages as scientific expertise, qualified personnel, strong educational institutions, and energy resources necessary for large-scale AI infrastructure, is one of the few countries capable of creating sovereign AI platforms, said Putin, adding that the country is prepared for upcoming changes and will use them to accelerate economic growth….
Founded in 2015, the EAEU comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Kazakhstan holds its rotating chairmanship in 2026.

USMCA Aluminium and Steel Tariffs: North American Trade Complexity Explained

Discovery Alert (Australia), May 29, 2926 – Negotiations involving Mexico began in Mexico City in late May 2026, with the sequencing of bilateral and trilateral discussions still being determined. Three areas have emerged as primary focal points in early-stage talks:

1. Tightening of rules of origin thresholds, particularly for metals and automotive content
2. Closer tariff alignment against imports from countries outside US free trade agreements
3. Increases to North American manufacturing content requirements in industrial supply chains

ARAB GULF:

Iraq Reaffirms Strategic Alignment With Gulf States on GCC Anniversary

SEEKS TO DEEPEN INTEGRATION INTO WIDER ARAB REGIONAL ORDER

Kurdistan24, May 26, 2026 – The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an official message on Tuesday congratulating the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on the 45th anniversary of the organization’s founding.
The ministry highlighted the GCC’s effectiveness in fostering a “spirit of integration” and coordination among its member states, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain.
Baghdad’s messaging reflects a broader effort to align its strategic outlook with its southern neighbors, particularly as Iraq seeks to deepen its integration into the wider Arab regional order.

KUWAIT NEWS AGENCY – OPINION:

‘GCC marks 45 years of unity in face of challenges, advances toward greater integration’

MAJOR MILESTONES FOR GCC COMMON MARKET, CUSTOMS UNION, POWER GRID INTERCONNECTION

“Enhanced coordination in defense, security, economy, energy, education, health and digital transformation”

Kuwait Times, May 25, 2026 – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) marks, on May 25, the 45th anniversary of its establishment as a cohesive and successful regional bloc capable of confronting challenges and advancing steadily toward greater integration….
[GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi] reaffirmed that the GCC is moving forward in strengthening unity and completing the path of Gulf integration in line with the aspirations of GCC leaders, while reinforcing its role in supporting regional and international peace and security. During its journey, the GCC achieved major milestones supporting Gulf integration, including the Gulf Common Market (GCM), GCC Customs Union, GCC power grid interconnection, and enhanced coordination in defense, security, economy, energy, education, health and digital transformation.

EU’s REGIONAL PROTECTIONISM:

The European Union’s “Made in Europe” Push

JD Supra, May 22, 2026 – A sweeping European Union (EU) legislative proposal could restrict U.S. government contractors’ access to one of the world’s largest procurement markets by favoring domestically manufactured, low-carbon products in key strategic sectors.
The Industrial Accelerator Act is designed to channel public funds toward European-manufactured products in key strategic sectors, strengthen European industry and competitiveness, and accelerate decarbonization through targeted measures in the awarding of public contracts and public subsidies.

Canadian, U.S., and Mexican mfg. leaders unite in Washington to urge preservation of CUSMA

Canadian Manufacturing, May 14, 2026 – Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) and manufacturing executives from across Canada are joining their counterparts from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in the United States and the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (CONCAMIN) at the North American Manufacturing Conference in Washington this week to send a clear, united message: North America’s highly integrated manufacturing supply chains depend on preserving CUSMA (USMCA) and the free flow of trade across borders.

Grassley: Extending the USCMA is ‘Invaluable’ to Countering China

‘ALIGNMENT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ECONOMY…TO U.S. STANDARDS’

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), grassley.senate.gov, May 13, 2026
“It is the invaluable effect of countering China on the global stage because of what has developed as a result of the USMCA. That is through the alignment on agricultural, environmental, intellectual property rules and regulations, and the alignment of rules of origin, strengthening near-shore supply chains and countless other provisions.
“The USMCA then protects our domestic workers, our companies and our products from being replaced by Chinese competition. The alignment of the North American economy, because of the USMCA, to U.S. standards – that all sends a very strong signal to the rest of the world….
“Because of what the USMCA [does] and the North American economy being aligned because of the USMCA, I think it shows the importance of counteracting China.“

The Strategic Link Between USMCA and Critical Minerals

‘ARCHITECTURE OF A NORTH AMERICAN MINERALS SECURITY SYSTEM’ TO COMPETE WITH CHINA

Americas Quarterly, May 11, 2026 – For Canada, this creates a stark challenge: engage proactively to shape these emerging standards, or risk finding itself in the position of acceding to a U.S.-Mexico template after its architecture has been set….
The scope of the plans—covering AI chips, electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors, and advanced defense systems—makes explicit what was previously implied: This is a national security arrangement as much as an economic one. The downstream industries named in it are not merely commercially important; they are the material substrate of military capability and technological leadership in the competition with China….
The highest-leverage outcome of the USMCA review would be a dedicated critical minerals annex or side agreement that locks in four foundational elements: tariff elimination on intra-regional mineral trade; aligned rules of origin for downstream products incorporating North American minerals; coordinated external tariffs against nonmarket producers; and joint procurement mechanisms for defence and strategic stockpiling.

NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMS UNION?

Fortress North America is replacing free trade in Canada’s lexicon

ONTARIO PREMIER FORD: USMCA MEMBERS SHOULD ‘MATCH OR EXCEED U.S. TARIFFS’ ON STRATEGIC CHINESE PRODUCTS

Policy Options (Canada) May 11, 2026 – Goldy Hyder, president of the Business Council of Canada, leaned into his microphone and told the room that “Fortress North America” was already the phrase American policymakers were using. Ontario Premier Doug Ford had for months been road-testing “Fortress Am-Can” to describe a potential “renewed strategic alliance.” By December, U.S. witnesses at the hearing were turning that proposal into a demand. “We should be building Fortress North America,” said the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance….
The vocabulary Canada endorsed in Washington does not stay in Washington. “Fortress North America” is a framework that defines Canada’s value to the United States as conditional on continuous alignment with American economic security priorities. Ford’s Am-Can growth plan says it explicitly: Any USMCA member should “match or exceed U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other strategically important products or lose its seat at the table.” That sentence was written by Canadians. It will be quoted back to them.

Council on Foreign Relations, May 1, 2026

What Is the Future of U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade?

CFR PRESIDENT MICHAEL FROMAN ANALYZES THE FUTURE OF TRADE IN THE REGION

USMCA is consequential for Canada and Mexico and, therefore, the review is a unique source of negotiating leverage. I could see the United States trying to use it to get Canada and Mexico to adopt a common approach to China, whether it is a common external tariff, export controls, or investment limitations.

MEXICO BUSINESS NEWS OPINION:

USMCA 2026: North America’s Defining Moment

“North America competes better when it is integrated and aligned”

Mexico Business News, May 1, 2026 – As of April 20, 2026, the USMCA review is no longer a calendar item. It is an active political and technical process. The United States and Mexico have formally launched the review process and started technical rounds to narrow key issues ahead of the treaty’s July 1, 2026 decision point, as contemplated in the agreement…..
The USMCA review can become either: (1) a platform to consolidate North America as the most competitive industrial bloc in the world; or (2) a fragmentation process that triggers partial deals, uncertainty, and investment relocation.
To secure the first outcome, Mexico needs a clear strategy: early stabilization in critical sectors, a credible origin-and-traceability proposal, logistics strengthening, and a simple, persuasive narrative: North America competes better when it is integrated and aligned.

ARAB GULF, GCC: REGIONAL-BLOC INFRASTRUCTURE:

From railways to energy — five strategic projects linking Gulf states

IRAN STRIKES CONVERT ‘ASPERATIONS INTO SECURITY NECESSITIES’

Al Jazeera, April 30, 2026 – Under the umbrella of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), these initiatives span transport, energy, water security and defence. They aim to deepen economic ties and strengthen collective resilience.
Thomas Bonnie James, a Gulf studies expert at AFG College with the University of Aberdeen, said the significance of this moment lies in how these projects are being redefined. He said the Iranian strikes on key GCC infrastructure have “converted these projects from economic aspirations into security necessities”, a shift that fundamentally alters the political calculus and injects urgency into their implementation.
Here is an overview of the most prominent joint Gulf projects.
A unified Gulf railway network….
Electrical interconnection grid….
Water interconnection system….
Oil and gas pipeline integration….
Joint ballistic missile early warning system….

THE NEW MERCANTILISM: EU & ‘MADE IN EUROPE’:

The EU turns to ‘Made in Europe’ tech solutions

‘IN CASE OF A POSSIBLE CONFLICT WITH THE U.S.’

The Parliament, April 30, 2026 – Transatlantic tensions are pushing the European Union and national governments across the bloc to ditch software and cloud compute provided by Big Tech in the United States in favor of European firms, as officials opt for more secure solutions….
That step builds on similar initiatives by member state and regional governments in Germany, France, Denmark, Austria, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden to move parts or all of internal government functions and public-facing services to European platforms.
The shift is intended to make European governments more resilient by ensuring services stay available in case of a possible conflict with the U.S. and strengthening data security. The “Made in Europe” approach can also give the continent’s cloud computing and software companies a much-needed boost.

AFRICAN UNION:

What is Africa’s philosophy for AI governance?

EU, US, CHINA, ASEAN MAKING RULES

Business & Financial Times (Ghana), April 29, 2026 – There is a race underway — and Africa was not told it was running. It is not a race to build the fastest AI system or the most capable model. It is a race to determine whose values, whose philosophy, and whose interests will govern artificial intelligence as it reshapes economies, institutions, and societies across the world….The European Union has written its rules. The United States has written its rules. China has written its rules. The ASEAN community is developing its rules….Africa has not yet written its rules. More concerning, it has not yet decided what those rules should be for — or whether that question has been fully confronted. In practical terms, Africa is not yet in that race. The more urgent issue is whether it recognises that the race has already begun, and what it will cost to decide too late.The African Union must elevate AI governance from a technical agenda item to a political priority, recognising that decisions made over the next five years will shape the distribution of economic power, technological capability, and political influence for a generation.

NORTH AMERICA, USMCA:

Canada will use energy sector as leverage in CUSMA talks, minister says

AI, MANUFACTURING, MINERAL PROCESSING DEPEND ON ELECTRICITY

Global News (Canada), April 24, 2026 – Canada’s position as an energy exporter is its “strongest card” in trade talks with the United States, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said Friday as the clock ticks down to the review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Free Trade Agreement (CUSMA)….
“Because every major ambition we have, from AI to advanced manufacturing to mineral processing, depends on reliable and affordable electricity,” he said.

SOUTH AMERICA, MERCOSUR:

Mercosur to discuss possible return of Venezuela to membership in economic union

UkrAgraConsult, April 23, 2026 – South America’s Mercosur economic union is set to discuss Venezuela’s possible return to the South American trading bloc, Bloomberg reported.
The bloc’s members have been warming up to Caracas since the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. troops earlier this year.

EURASIA:

How United States Policy in the Middle East Targets Eurasian Integration

SpecialEurasia, April 22, 2026 – US Middle East policy is a deliberate reset button designed to physically dismantle regional corridors and infrastructures, effectively impeding the emergence of a self-sufficient, non-Western Eurasian bloc.
By sabotaging Gulf stability, Washington eliminates energy competitors to become the West’s top exporter while successfully breaking the momentum of regional de-dollarisation.
Growing Russia–China–Iran integration (INSTC, BRI links, energy and transit corridors) positions Iran as the linchpin of Eurasian trade—making it a prime target for disruption….
The burgeoning Eurasian integration is further evidenced by a collective gravitation toward regionally-led multilateral architectures—including BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Israel pushes IMEC trade corridor to bypass Hormuz amid Iran tensions

Ynet News, April 22, 2026 – Officials see a rare window to advance the India-Europe route via the Gulf, but Saudi reluctance and post-Oct. 7 complexities pose challenges, as efforts intensify to reduce Iran’s grip on global trade routes disrupted by tensions in Hormuz

GCC, ARAB LEAGUE:

After Iran war, attack on Gulf States, will the GCC withdraw from Arab League – analysis

Proposal for alternative: Arab coordination council comprising Gulf states, Jordan, Morocco, Syria

Jerusalem Post, April 22, 2026 – The participation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and their continued membership in the Arab League have become a subject of questions and speculation, especially after the Arab League came under fire following the Israeli-American-Iranian conflict and the Iranian attacks on the Gulf states and Jordan….
Qasim Sultan, a Saudi political analyst, told The Media Line, “The role of the Arab League has been weakening over time, and I believe this is due to the weakness of successive secretaries-general. Most of them are former Egyptian officials, over 70 years old….
“Its charter should also be amended to make its decisions more binding on Arab states, to expedite its decision-making process, and to work more effectively on joint coordination, as is the case in the European Union, rather than functioning as a forum that accomplishes virtually nothing,” Sultan concluded.

Iraq’s Gulf Pivot and the Cost of Inaction

Gulf International Forum, April 23, 2026 – The fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has not restored the regional status quo, but it has quietly reshaped it. Iraq, long viewed through a Tehran-centric lens, may be repositioning its approach and policy toward the Gulf. The real question is not Iraq’s readiness, but whether the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are prepared to throw their weight behind and engage a shifting regional actor before the opportunity slips away.

NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMS UNION?

Atlantic Council: Using the USMCA review to strengthen regional integration

By developing common external tariff, blockchain-based traceability

AI-driven trade intelligence… ‘can integrate customs data’

RELITIGATION “WOULD PUT THE REGION AT RISK OF FALLING BEHIND COMPETING BLOCS”
Atlantic Council, April 20, 2026 – The USMCA review presents an opportunity for the parties to strengthen economic security and competitiveness, rather than relitigating the agreement’s core principles, which would put the region at risk of falling behind competing blocs….One potential alternative is the development of a Common External Tariff (CET) on steel. While challenging due to differing trade agreements and tariff commitments, coordinated use of anti-dumping and countervailing duty measures could provide a pathway toward alignment.

Opinion: To stay competitive, North America needs more than USMCA

Uncertainty over the USMCA trade agreement is causing concern for the North American auto industry. A customs union could be the answer

The Detroit News, April 13, 2026

SOUTH ASIA, SAARC:

Call to Revive SAARC Gains Push at Regional Webinar

‘FUNCTIONING REGIONAL BLOC WOULD EVENTUALLY COMPEL INDIA TO REJOIN’

Kashmir Times, April 19, 2026 – A cross-regional webinar on reviving the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) concluded with a broad consensus on the need to restart regional cooperation.
Speakers called for rethinking on the part of India to ensure revival of the SAARC and to other countries to undertake flexible arrangements, people-to-people engagement, and a fresh review of the grouping’s charter….
India’s former diplomat and union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar strongly backed these views but was critical of New Delhi’s approach, describing it as the principal roadblock to SAARC’s revival. He proposed that smaller South Asian countries form a “coalition of the willing” to move forward with cooperation even in India’s absence, arguing that a functioning regional bloc would eventually compel India to rejoin. He drew parallels with European integration, saying economic incentives could drive political change.

ARAB GULF:

The GCC has unity, it now needs joint defence and development

ALONG THE LINES OF A ‘GULF NATO’

Al Jazeera, April 19, 2026 – The Gulf states are not a party to the American-Israeli-Iranian war, and they will not fall into the trap of being dragged into it. At the same time, it is essential to establish strong safeguards for regional security. That can be achieved foremost through the establishment of a joint defence architecture along the lines of a “Gulf NATO”, with the possibility of regional powers such as Turkiye or Pakistan joining to strengthen collective deterrence.

SE ASIA, ASEAN:

Southeast Asia as a Powerhouse

ASEAN WORLD’S FIFTH-LARGEST ECONOMY

The Globalist, April 17, 2026 – The eleven countries of Southeast Asia – in alphabetical order, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and Timor-Leste – have a combined population of 700 million.
This is about half of China’s population, but it towers over that of the European Union with its 450 million and it is double the 350 million strong U.S. population.
The countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have a collective nominal GDP surpassing $4 trillion, which makes ASEAN the world’s fifth-largest economy, after the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.

REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE:

Plugging Into Reality: The ASEAN Power Grid

The Diplomat, April 17, 2026 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has long envisioned a region-wide power grid as a pathway to lower energy costs, improve energy security, and accelerate integration of renewable energy across borders. Yet financing alone will not turn vision into voltage. Without functioning power systems, clear rules, and credible institutions, the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) risks becoming another regional ambition that never fully materializes….
While ASEAN aims to complete the interconnection priorities by 2040, it is still working through basic requirements, such as harmonizing technical standards, setting rules for power transmission and payments, and establishing dispute resolution mechanisms, which are essential for regional power trade to function.

EUROPEAN UNION & UK:

UK could adopt EU single market rules under new legislation

‘ATTEMPT TO DRAG BRITAIN BACK UNDER EUROPEAN UNION CONTROL’

BBC, April 13, 2026 – Sir Keir Starmer is planning legislation to allow the UK to adopt new EU laws without Parliament having to hold a full vote each time.
Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said it would mean Parliament is “reduced to a spectator while Brussels sets the terms”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to oppose the legislation “every step of the way”, calling the plans “a backdoor attempt to drag Britain back under European Union control”.

REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE:

Globalization Rewired: Resilience and Opportunity in a Fragmented Global Economy

JD Supra, April 16, 2026 – Uncertainty is the defining feature of 2026, reshaping globalization rather than ending it. As tariffs, export controls, geopolitical fragmentation, and regional conflicts disrupt long-standing assumptions about trade and supply chains, a more selective form of re-globalization is emerging across trusted partners and regional blocs.
The global system is reorganizing around competing regulatory and political spheres, rather than converging around common rules. Bilateral and mini-lateral deals are proliferating; export controls on semiconductors and dual-use technologies are tightening; and standards are diverging across regions. The World Economic Forum describes this environment as an “age of competition” in which multilateral coordination is under strain.

SRI LANKA GUARDIAN – OPINION:

The UN Is No Longer Fit for Purpose

A CASE FOR DISMANTLING GLOBAL CENTRALISM IN FAVOR OF REGIONAL ORDER

by Raj Gonsalkorale, Sri Lanka Guardian, April 3, 2026 – A regional model is suggested as a potential alternative to the UN system. In such a model, the global policing role could shift from a centralized UN Security Council with individual country representation to a council composed of regional organizations such as the African Union, ASEAN, the European Union, the Organization of American States, and similar regional groupings, including both existing entities and those that may be formed in the future. These groupings, which are currently more focused on trade and economic cooperation than on security matters, could take on greater responsibility without direct individual country membership.

‘COALITION OF INDEPENDENCE’:

Macron urges new world order, warns against passivity in global ‘disorder’

‘MADE IN EUROPE’ APPROACH SIMILAR TO POLICIES IN NORTH AMERICA

Anadolu Agency (Turkiye), April 3, 2026 – French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called for building a new world order and warned against remaining “passive” amid what he described as growing global disorder….
Macron called for a system based on cooperation among “able and willing countries” that support what he described as a “coalition of independence.”….
“In the world we live in — with American tariffs and Chinese overcapacity — we must protect our production capacities,” he said, adding that Europe is advancing a “Made in Europe” approach similar to policies in North America.

MADE IN NORTH AMERICA:

Mexico Eyes USMCA to Reduce Mining Dependence on China

INTEGRATING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION INTO REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAINS, USMCA FRAMEWORK

Mexico Business, April 1, 2026 – Mexico’s mining sector is leveraging the 2026 USMCA review and the Mexico-US Action Plan on Critical Minerals to reduce structural dependence on China for mineral processing, positioning domestic production of lithium, silver, and copper within North American supply chains for automotive, electromobility, and advanced manufacturing industries….
The broader policy framework backing this shift is already in motion. The Mexico-US Action Plan on Critical Minerals, announced Feb. 4, 2026, establishes a cooperation framework to reposition Mexico’s mining sector within the North American industrial landscape, integrating domestic production into regional supply chains for electromobility, digitalization, and advanced manufacturing, according to CAMIMEX.
Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, said the government’s minerals agenda is being integrated directly into the USMCA framework to link resources. including lithium and silver, to the North American industrial ecosystem shared by Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

EU, EAU:

Putin says Armenia cannot be in EU, Eurasian Economic Union simultaneously

BELONGING TO TWO CUSTOMS UNIONS ‘IMPOSSIBLE BY DEFINITION’

Xinhua (China), April 1, 2026 – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Armenia cannot be in both the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union at the same time, as both are customs unions….
Established in 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

‘NORTH AMERICAN SECURITY PERIMETER’:

US unveils ‘Greater North America’ strategy to redefine regional security

‘From Greenland to Ecuador and from Alaska to Guyana’ within ‘immediate security perimeter’

Business Standard, Updated March 30, 2026 – US War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday (local time) outlined a new geopolitical framework, naming it the “Greater North America” strategy, describing it as a redefinition of regional security under President Donald Trump’s leadership.
Speaking at the US Southern Command headquarters in Doral (Florida), Hegseth said the administration’s strategic vision stretches “from Greenland to the Gulf of America to the Panama Canal,” encompassing all sovereign countries and territories north of the equator within “immediate security perimeter.”

See older article links, summaries in NEWS ARCHIVE

VIDEO: GLOBAL SHAKEDOWN (2015)
The world’s developing and projected regional blocs. (Excerpt @ 20:15 of 27:33)

NORTH AMERICAN CUSTOMS UNION?

Terminate USMCA

The 2020 ratification of the USMCA “free trade” agreement,” scheduled for review in 2026, created a “problem”:…China and others have been circumventing U.S. customs protection via import dumping into Mexico and Canada.
But the “solution” currently being offered by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is even further integration, by “enhancing economic security alignment on tariffs.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also favors tariff alignment into a vast “Fortress North America” economic security bloc.
Incredibly, this incremental regionalism/ globalism is being perceived as an assertion of Trumpian U.S. nationalism across the continent.
But a fully aligned, common-external-tariff structure among North American nations would constitute a “customs union”:

That would be level two of the “five levels of economic integration,” being taught and promoted in international business and other programs at universities throughout the world. The USMCA “free trade” agreement is level one.
This would take North America another step down the same incremental, Hegelian-dialectic, crisis-creating path upon which Jean Monnet pushed European nations to bring about the European Union.
In that regard, the “five levels of economic integration” is a misnomer. The more accurate label is “five steps to political union,” in which national sovereignty would be incrementally surrendered – via “free trade” – to the world’s multinational, regional blocs.
USMCA doesn’t need to be renegotiated. It needs to be terminated.