The United States (US) Senate reached a tentative, bipartisan agreement on 29 January to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year and avoid a partial government shutdown. The funding delay stemmed from Democratic demands for reforms to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) enforcement procedures before a final vote.

According to the deal, the Senate will vote on five of the remaining House-passed appropriations bills that Democrats support. A two-week extension of Homeland Security funding would be voted on separately, to be followed by a final vote on DHS funding after agreement on reforms.

The House will return to Washington on Monday from their one-week recess and likely vote on 2 February on the two-week stopgap Homeland Security measure.

President Trump recently confirmed that he will be releasing a proposed FY 2027 budget and said it is currently under negotiation. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) was quoted as saying he does not expect an Administration budget to be released until March.

EU lawmakers this week failed to agree on whether to resume enactment of the US-EU trade deal, which stalled in the European Parliament due to concerns over President Trump's comments on Greenland. The Parliament's International Trade Committee Chair said that lead negotiators would meet on 4 February to discuss next steps. Lawmakers broadly agree that the US-EU deal should proceed but that there is still some disagreement among policymakers over how the EU should approach its trading relationship with the United States moving forward.

The OECD on 20 January hosted a public consultation meeting to discuss issues related to the global mobility of individuals. The consultation was announced on 26 November 2025, with the release of a public consultation document providing an overview of issues that arise from cross-border movement of people and seeking input from stakeholders on their insights and experiences. A Global Tax Alert provides details.

The next round of United Nations Framework Convention negotiations will begin on 2 February. In preparation for negotiations on Protocol I regarding cross-border and digital services taxation, the UN published an options paper and a background note to inform the upcoming negotiations.

The chair of the negotiating committee indicated that the draft version of Article 5 of the Framework Convention, published on 22 January, should serve as guidance.