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Tom Wills

@thomaswills.bsky.social
111 followers 75 following 23 posts

Director of the Trade Justice Movement

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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
The UK’s net zero ambitions cannot be built on extractive trade deals. @thomaswills.bsky.social writes for @sustainableviews.bsky.social on why critical minerals agreements must uphold rights, respect policy space, and support reuse and recycling. www.sustainableviews.com/uks-net-zero...
sustainableviews.com
UK’s net zero ambitions cannot be built on extractive trade deals
Tom Wills is director of the Trade Justice Movement The future is global partnerships that respect national sovereignty, uphold rights and focus on reuse and recycling
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
📢 Today we launch a new report: A pathway to just trade. Critical minerals are essential to the energy transition. But the UK must secure them without repeating the extractive harms of the past. Endorsed by 28 organisations. Read more: tjm.org.uk/uk-must-avoi...
tjm.org.uk
UK must avoid repeating past extractive harms in race for critical minerals, report warns - Trade Justice Movement
Critical minerals are central to the UK’s energy transition, industrial strategy and economic security. The UK government intends to secure increased access to minerals through new trade agreements. T...
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
We have joined 340+ civil society organisations worldwide calling on governments to begin building a coalition to move away from #ISDS. As governments gather in Santa Marta for the first conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels, ISDS is finally on the agenda. tjm.org.uk/340-civil-so...
tjm.org.uk
340+ civil society groups urge governments to build coalition to exit ISDS - Trade Justice Movement
More than 340 civil society organisations from around the world have signed a new global statement urging governments to work together to move away from Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the s...
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
The UK ranks worst in Europe for perpetuating the harms of ISDS. New joint research launched today ranks 30 European countries and puts the UK top of the list. As @thomaswills.bsky.social says, this is “not an economic necessity, it is a political choice.” #ISDS #TradeJustice #ClimateJustice
The UK ranks worst in Europe for propping up a secretive 'corporate court' system. ISDS allows corporations to sue entire countries outside of national legal systems. Our new joint report exposes the countries holding up this shadowy regime.We ranked 30 European countries across 10 indicators including the amount of ISDS treaties, how much they are used by fossil fuel investors, and how much money has been paid out to corporations through their deals.We found that.... The UK ranks worst overall in perpetuating the
harm of ISDS, with British investors particularly
litigious in the mining and fossil fuel sector.


The Netherlands comes close behind and Dutch
investors (in many cases using shell companies)
have initiated more corporate court cases than
those in any other European countries.


The UK, the Netherlands, Germany, France and
Switzerland form a highly concentrated group -
accounting for a disproportionate share of the
treaties, cases and climate risk.Read the full report and scorecard on our website - link in bio
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
£64bn is the cost of UK capitulation to pharmaceutical companies and Trump. Secret deal commits the NHS to pay higher price for new and existing drugs No debate in parliament. Govt can tax the rich, cut other services, let people die, start manufacturing drugs and become self-reliant.
thebureauinvestigates.com
Inside the £64bn pharma deal that could cost more lives than Covid
With the NHS on its knees, the UK has struck a secretive new drugs deal. But how was it made – and what will it really cost?
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
ISDS means local climate victories can still end up in corporate courts. Our new short film with @friends-earth.bsky.social and @globaljustice.bsky.social is worth a watch! It features voices from the Cumbria campaign alongside expert insight, showing how #ISDS can undermine hard-won local wins.
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Reposted by Tom Wills
European Trade Justice Coalition @eurtradejustice.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman is suing Luxembourg for $16bn for freezing his assets. He's also suing the UK This is just one example of how Russian oligarchs are using a secretive mechanism to undermine sanctions #stopISDS #Ukraine europeantradejustice.org/wp-content/u...
Montage image. In the centre are two faces of white men. Background on the left shows a conference room with chairs and microphones, while above is a blurred image of documents and the word 'Sanctions'. Background on the right shows a landscape with smoke from explosions.
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Delighted to have signed this, there's a web of cosy corruption between Mandelson, Palantir and Global Counsel which needs to be unpicked, as @petergeoghegan.bsky.social was saying on the @lrb.co.uk podcast
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Yes to all this - great piece looking at UK trade policy. It's a vital area of our politics which has little MP oversight. That makes it uniquely vulnerable to corporate capture by some of the most irresponsible and polluting countries out there.
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Adam Ramsay @adamramsay.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Around the world, fossil fuel companies are using British trade treaties to protect their climate-killing assets. And MPs have very little power to scrutinise the department pushing these deals. A deep diving into corporate capture of British trade policy. By me: open.substack.com/pub/abolishw...
open.substack.com
​​How British undemocracy lets big oil shape our trade policy - and drive climate crisis
Long read: British trade deals are being used to protect fossil fuel company assets around the world, and MPs barely get a say
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Our December newsletter is out, with updates on: • ⚖️ ISDS, including 2 cases against the UK 🤯 • 🇮🇳 UK–India trade talks • 🪨 Critical minerals strategy • 🗣️ Public attitudes to trade • 🌐 Other trade justice news 👉https://mailchi.mp/da09533539e2/tjm-newsletter-october-21469804?e=596e56fafb
Top end of TJM newsletter with logo and title (UK faces lawsuits from a Russian oligarch and coal mine investors via investment agreements)
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Trade and climate are deeply connected. The COP29–30 Roadmap notes that older investment treaties with Investor–State Dispute Settlement (#ISDS) can limit climate action, with over USD 83bn already awarded in related cases. Good to see this recognised at COP level. unfccc.int/sites/defaul...
unfccc.int
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Global Justice Now @globaljusticenow.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
"Keeping ISDS in our trade deals leaves the door open to preposterous claims by billionaire oligarchs and multinational corporations alike. "Win or lose, it’s taxpayers here who will pick up the bill. "The UK must follow other countries in getting rid of ISDS." - @cleodierickard.bsky.social
Cleodie Rickard, trade campaign manager at Global Justice Now said:
“That allies of Putin can hold our government’s actions to ransom during Russia's illegal war on Ukraine is an outrage. This latest case against the UK government highlights the huge threat that corporate courts pose not only to sovereignty and democracy, but to security. Keeping Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in our trade and investment deals leaves the door open to preposterous claims by billionaire oligarchs and multinational corporations alike. And win or lose, it’s taxpayers here who will pick up the bill. This claim - alongside the second facing the UK for stopping a coal mine - should make it a no-brainer: the UK must follow other countries in getting rid of ISDS.”
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Great to see some moral clarity from @elliechowns.bsky.social and the @greenparty.org.uk on this 🙌
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
This is important - yet more evidence that the #ISDS system exists to guarantee corporate profits and completely disregards human rights and the environment. In the UK, Labour should be emulating its sister parties in Aus and NZ by conducting a review of these agreements.
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
We've written to Keir Starmer today to highlight deep human rights concerns with the UK-Gulf trade agreement
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
I'm quoted in this article, making the case for the UK to reject the system of corporate courts which allow fossil fuel companies to sue governments over climate policies... bylinetimes.com/2025/08/14/c...
bylinetimes.com
Bot Verification
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
This is huge - the UK is being sued by a coal mining company for acting against fossil fuels. This should be a wake up call for our government, we can't have climate action without dismantling the ISDS 'corporate courts' which exist in 80+ UK investment agreements.
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Global Justice Now @globaljusticenow.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
🚨 BREAKING 🚨 Britain is being SUED - all because the High Court rightly ruled that the Cumbria coal mine must not go ahead over its climate impacts. Corporations should not be allowed to sue us for taking climate action! #EndISDS www.globaljustice.org.uk/news/britain...
globaljustice.org.uk
Britain sued in ‘corporate court’ over quashing of coal mine in Cumbria  - Global Justice Now
Claimants are being represented by Conservative MP and former attorney general Geoffrey Cox Lawsuit is the first known case under Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) against the UK since 2006 […]
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Our August newsletter is out now! • Labour’s first year: why its Trade Strategy still looks worryingly familiar • US tariff threats to the Global South • How the energy transition risks becoming a dirty deal • Plus lots more updates 📩 Read it here: tinyurl.com/yrybbvre
Image of the header and first few lines of the Trade Justice Movement's August newsletter. One year of Labour: continuity, not transformation.
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
This is really important from @globaljusticenow.bsky.social - mining of 'critical minerals' is always framed as vital for the energy transition...but many of those minerals have no role in tackling climate change (and plenty of use in weapons/aerospace). theecologist.org/2025/aug/07/...
theecologist.org
Military diverting critical materials from renewables
Campaigners say green transition must not be hijacked by military industries or used to undermine the economies of developing countries.
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Whatever trade deal is announced today by Trump, MPs will have no opportunity to approve it. Our system for approving treaties like this has been largely unchanged since the 1920s. I'm in the @financialtimes.com highlighting this democratic deficit. www.ft.com/content/0ef1...
ft.com
Letter: Parliament must have a say on UK-US trade deal
From Tom Wills, Director, Trade Justice Movement, London SW9, UK
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
www.ft.com/content/faea... Giving MPs a vote on a US trade deal is the very least we should expect from a serious government which values democracy and accountability. It's good to see Starmer getting called out on this.
ft.com
Keir Starmer resists pressure to give MPs a vote on any US-UK trade deal
Britain hopes to seal trio of trade accords in coming weeks as talks also continue with the EU and India
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
An editorial from @the-independent.com notes that huge political boost which Starmer could win by getting a trade deal with Trump. However, its conclusion is bang on... (1/2) www.independent.co.uk/voices/edito...
independent.co.uk
If Starmer pulls off a trade deal with the US, he’ll seal his legacy
Editorial: Although the prospect has seemed far from realistic in the past, JD Vance’s recent remarks suggest it could indeed be possible now
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Barely reported today - the colossal impact of Trump's tariffs on wages, jobs and poverty levels in the Global South. What's the justification for a 50% tariff on Lesotho? economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/interna...
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Trump tariffs are ‘disaster’ for the world’s poorest countries
US President Trump's new reciprocal tariffs will heavily impact some of the world's poorest countries, with rates up to 50%. These tariffs could undermine their labor-intensive export industries, push...
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
And if we get a trade deal, what then? The UK should ask Canada how seriously Trump takes commitments in trade agreements.
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
There's a huge focus on Trump's tariffs: will they hit the UK? How hard? Will the UK hit back? This risks missing the point. What if they're only ever meant to back the UK into a corner, from which the US can secure a trade deal from a position of even greater strength?
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Fantastic from @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social - doing a sterling job of trying to pin the government down on its position on ISDS. And she's right - on trade issues we're yet to see much difference at all between this government and the last lot...
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Reposted by Tom Wills
Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Surely the Labour government is not just going to follow on negotiating an India Free Trade Deal from where the Tories left off? Surely? What about labour rights and environmental justice? What about #ISDS? @tradejusticemov.bsky.social @waronwant.bsky.social
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Great to see @theguardian.com/@patrickgreenfield.bsky.social cover this wild story of Greenland's government acting vs toxic mining, only to be hit with an $11bn lawsuit... www.theguardian.com/environment/... Stop ISDS! Join @tradejusticemov.bsky.social in campaigning to dismantle the system.
theguardian.com
Fearing toxic waste, Greenland ended uranium mining. Now, they could be forced to restart - or pay $11bn
The island is being sued by a mining company over its decision, and faces paying nine times its annual budget in damages if it loses
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Listen to Nick 👇. Great run down of the risks of a UK-India trade deal, to coincide with UK ministers jetting off to try to finalise the agreement.
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Trade Justice Movement @tradejusticemov.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
🚨 The TJM January newsletter is out now! You'll find out more about: 🌍 Citizens' Assembly updates & global online launch (14 Jan) 🇨🇴 Colombia-UK treaty developments 📢 Member updates & opportunities 🔗 mailchi.mp/22dbb8f02b3c... To a hopeful and impactful 2025! ✍️ Sign up: tinyurl.com/ye2kt338
mailchi.mp
TJM Newsletter - January 2025
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Tom Wills @thomaswills.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Welcoming myself to BlueSky 🤝 in the next year I'm hoping to post about the emergence of an ambitious and progressive UK trade strategy and the continued disintegration of the ISDS system, as well as anything else we get up to @tradejusticemov.bsky.social
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