Despite being ‘simply’ trade agreements, the CPTTP and the USMCA have started to drive advances in ocean sustainability. Member nations are required to use science-based management systems to prevent overfishing and overcapacity. They must implement port controls to combat illegal fishing and prohibit the provision of subsidies for vessels engaged in illegal fishing or that further threaten overfished stocks.

Meanwhile, the top list of petrochemical companies producing virgin polymers bound for single-use plastic remains effectively unchanged. While global capacity to produce these polymers is expected grow slower than the historical rate (. per cent CAGR in - vs . per cent in -), this still equates to an additional MMT by , of which we expect MMT to be bound for single-use plastics.

The report highlights the role played by G nations in fuelling forced labour within global supply chains, including state-imposed forced labour. The G accounts for over half of all people living in modern slavery and imports US$ billion of at-risk products annually. The United States was by far the biggest importer of at-risk products (US$. billion). Electronics remained the highest value at-risk product (US$. billion), followed by garments (US$. billion), palm oil (US$. billion), solar panels (US$. billion), and textiles (US$. billion).

Cecilia Blasco is Executive Director of Smartfish Rescate de Valor, AC where she oversees a multidisciplinary team that provides technical and entrepreneurial assistance to artisanal fishers and seafood buyers. Founded in , SmartFish’s mission is to foster a market for sustainably caught seafood in Mexico by catalyzing both supply and demand. Before joining SmartFish Cecilia worked at the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature for over years. Cecilia is originally from Argentina and lived in Kenya, Switzerland, and the USA before moving to Mexico. She has a Master’s in Environmental Science from the Yale Environmental School and a BA in geography from Dartmouth College.

As of early , scientists from the five countries have selected a focus species (skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis), reviewed the available evidence and selected a common stock assessment method to assess the data. Scientists are now working within single-country groups to use this method to analyse their own data. The results of that analysis are then shared by the scientists with the other countries. This individual country focus and sequencing avoids countries having to share raw data, while allowing regional scientists to leverage their collective expertise and pool evidence to build a shared scientific consensus on the state of fish stocks. This consensus could provide a foundation for further cooperation by states at the official level.