diff --git a/integration-tests/propagation-validation-server/validation-server.js b/integration-tests/propagation-validation-server/validation-server.js
index bee53a06622..4818fb2761f 100644
--- a/integration-tests/propagation-validation-server/validation-server.js
+++ b/integration-tests/propagation-validation-server/validation-server.js
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 const axios = require("axios");
 const { HttpTraceContext } = require("@opentelemetry/core");
 const { BasicTracerProvider } = require("@opentelemetry/tracing");
-const { context, propagation, trace } = require("@opentelemetry/api");
+const { context, propagation, trace, ROOT_CONTEXT } = require("@opentelemetry/api");
 const {
   AsyncHooksContextManager,
 } = require("@opentelemetry/context-async-hooks");
@@ -31,14 +31,14 @@ app.use(bodyParser.json());
 
 // Mount our demo route
 app.post("/verify-tracecontext", (req, res) => {
-  context.with(propagation.extract(req.headers), () => {
+  context.with(propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, req.headers), () => {
     Promise.all(
       req.body.map((action) => {
         const span = tracer.startSpan("propagate-w3c");
         let promise;
         tracer.withSpan(span, () => {
           const headers = {};
-          propagation.inject(headers);
+          propagation.inject(context.active(), headers);
           promise = axios
             .post(
               action.url,
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@ app.post("/verify-tracecontext", (req, res) => {
         return promise;
       })
     )
-      .then(() => res.send("hello"))
-      .catch((err) => res.status(500).send(err));
+    .then(() => res.send("hello"))
+    .catch((err) => res.status(500).send(err));
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/api/propagation.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/api/propagation.ts
index 76b6ef57fa8..a07b88b94d2 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/api/propagation.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/src/api/propagation.ts
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ import {
   TextMapPropagator,
   TextMapSetter,
 } from '../context/propagation/TextMapPropagator';
-import { ContextAPI } from './context';
 import {
   API_BACKWARDS_COMPATIBILITY_VERSION,
   GLOBAL_PROPAGATION_API_KEY,
@@ -31,8 +30,6 @@ import {
   _global,
 } from './global-utils';
 
-const contextApi = ContextAPI.getInstance();
-
 /**
  * Singleton object which represents the entry point to the OpenTelemetry Propagation API
  */
@@ -72,14 +69,14 @@ export class PropagationAPI {
   /**
    * Inject context into a carrier to be propagated inter-process
    *
+   * @param context Context carrying tracing data to inject
    * @param carrier carrier to inject context into
    * @param setter Function used to set values on the carrier
-   * @param context Context carrying tracing data to inject. Defaults to the currently active context.
    */
   public inject<Carrier>(
+    context: Context,
     carrier: Carrier,
-    setter: TextMapSetter<Carrier> = defaultTextMapSetter,
-    context: Context = contextApi.active()
+    setter: TextMapSetter<Carrier> = defaultTextMapSetter
   ): void {
     return this._getGlobalPropagator().inject(context, carrier, setter);
   }
@@ -87,14 +84,14 @@ export class PropagationAPI {
   /**
    * Extract context from a carrier
    *
+   * @param context Context which the newly created context will inherit from
    * @param carrier Carrier to extract context from
    * @param getter Function used to extract keys from a carrier
-   * @param context Context which the newly created context will inherit from. Defaults to the currently active context.
    */
   public extract<Carrier>(
+    context: Context,
     carrier: Carrier,
-    getter: TextMapGetter<Carrier> = defaultTextMapGetter,
-    context: Context = contextApi.active()
+    getter: TextMapGetter<Carrier> = defaultTextMapGetter
   ): Context {
     return this._getGlobalPropagator().extract(context, carrier, getter);
   }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
index 77ecf8f70b8..d2ca5daab57 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-api/test/api/api.test.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ import api, {
   trace,
   propagation,
   metrics,
+  TextMapPropagator,
+  Context,
+  TextMapSetter,
+  TextMapGetter,
+  ROOT_CONTEXT,
+  defaultTextMapSetter,
+  defaultTextMapGetter,
 } from '../../src';
 
 describe('API', () => {
@@ -84,5 +91,81 @@ describe('API', () => {
         return new TestTracer();
       }
     }
+
+    describe('should use the global propagation', () => {
+      const testKey = Symbol('kTestKey');
+
+      interface Carrier {
+        context?: Context;
+        setter?: TextMapSetter;
+      }
+
+      class TestTextMapPropagation implements TextMapPropagator<Carrier> {
+        inject(
+          context: Context,
+          carrier: Carrier,
+          setter: TextMapSetter
+        ): void {
+          carrier.context = context;
+          carrier.setter = setter;
+        }
+
+        extract(
+          context: Context,
+          carrier: Carrier,
+          getter: TextMapGetter
+        ): Context {
+          return context.setValue(testKey, {
+            context,
+            carrier,
+            getter,
+          });
+        }
+
+        fields(): string[] {
+          return ['TestField'];
+        }
+      }
+
+      it('inject', () => {
+        api.propagation.setGlobalPropagator(new TestTextMapPropagation());
+
+        const context = ROOT_CONTEXT.setValue(testKey, 15);
+        const carrier: Carrier = {};
+        api.propagation.inject(context, carrier);
+        assert.strictEqual(carrier.context, context);
+        assert.strictEqual(carrier.setter, defaultTextMapSetter);
+
+        const setter: TextMapSetter = {
+          set: () => {},
+        };
+        api.propagation.inject(context, carrier, setter);
+        assert.strictEqual(carrier.context, context);
+        assert.strictEqual(carrier.setter, setter);
+      });
+
+      it('extract', () => {
+        api.propagation.setGlobalPropagator(new TestTextMapPropagation());
+
+        const carrier: Carrier = {};
+        let context = api.propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, carrier);
+        let data: any = context.getValue(testKey);
+        assert.ok(data != null);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.context, ROOT_CONTEXT);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.carrier, carrier);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.getter, defaultTextMapGetter);
+
+        const getter: TextMapGetter = {
+          keys: () => [],
+          get: () => undefined,
+        };
+        context = api.propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, carrier, getter);
+        data = context.getValue(testKey);
+        assert.ok(data != null);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.context, ROOT_CONTEXT);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.carrier, carrier);
+        assert.strictEqual(data.getter, getter);
+      });
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/http.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/http.ts
index 072360dbb28..57859d12f3d 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/http.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/http.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   setActiveSpan,
   SpanContext,
   TraceFlags,
+  ROOT_CONTEXT,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { NoRecordingSpan } from '@opentelemetry/core';
 import type * as http from 'http';
@@ -403,7 +404,7 @@ export class HttpInstrumentation extends InstrumentationBase<Http> {
         }),
       };
 
-      return context.with(propagation.extract(headers), () => {
+      return context.with(propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, headers), () => {
         const span = instrumentation._startHttpSpan(
           `${component.toLocaleUpperCase()} ${method}`,
           spanOptions
@@ -539,9 +540,8 @@ export class HttpInstrumentation extends InstrumentationBase<Http> {
         optionsParsed.headers = {};
       }
       propagation.inject(
-        optionsParsed.headers,
-        undefined,
-        setActiveSpan(context.active(), span)
+        setActiveSpan(context.active(), span),
+        optionsParsed.headers
       );
 
       const request: http.ClientRequest = safeExecuteInTheMiddle(
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/version.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/version.ts
index 707690f363b..db447568f37 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/version.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-http/src/version.ts
@@ -15,4 +15,4 @@
  */
 
 // this is autogenerated file, see scripts/version-update.js
-export const VERSION = '0.12.0';
+export const VERSION = '0.13.0';
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-xml-http-request/src/xhr.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-xml-http-request/src/xhr.ts
index 2ee1d0afe8c..1e5fe3e1fd3 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-xml-http-request/src/xhr.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-instrumentation-xml-http-request/src/xhr.ts
@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ export class XMLHttpRequestInstrumentation extends InstrumentationBase<XMLHttpRe
       return;
     }
     const headers: { [key: string]: unknown } = {};
-    api.propagation.inject(headers);
+    api.propagation.inject(api.context.active(), headers);
     Object.keys(headers).forEach(key => {
       xhr.setRequestHeader(key, String(headers[key]));
     });
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-fetch/src/fetch.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-fetch/src/fetch.ts
index 6860b83c01f..6d46638ff26 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-fetch/src/fetch.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-fetch/src/fetch.ts
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ import * as web from '@opentelemetry/web';
 import { AttributeNames } from './enums/AttributeNames';
 import { FetchError, FetchResponse, SpanData } from './types';
 import { VERSION } from './version';
-import { setActiveSpan } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 // how long to wait for observer to collect information about resources
 // this is needed as event "load" is called before observer
@@ -69,7 +68,7 @@ export class FetchPlugin extends core.BasePlugin<Promise<Response>> {
       {
         startTime: corsPreFlightRequest[web.PerformanceTimingNames.FETCH_START],
       },
-      setActiveSpan(api.context.active(), span)
+      api.setActiveSpan(api.context.active(), span)
     );
     web.addSpanNetworkEvents(childSpan, corsPreFlightRequest);
     childSpan.end(
@@ -113,12 +112,12 @@ export class FetchPlugin extends core.BasePlugin<Promise<Response>> {
     }
 
     if (options instanceof Request) {
-      api.propagation.inject(options.headers, {
+      api.propagation.inject(api.context.active(), options.headers, {
         set: (h, k, v) => h.set(k, typeof v === 'string' ? v : String(v)),
       });
     } else {
       const headers: Partial<Record<string, unknown>> = {};
-      api.propagation.inject(headers);
+      api.propagation.inject(api.context.active(), headers);
       options.headers = Object.assign({}, headers, options.headers || {});
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/client/utils.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/client/utils.ts
index 90fab8b8b2f..9332f7ad768 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/client/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/client/utils.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
   StatusCode,
   Status,
   propagation,
+  context,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { RpcAttribute } from '@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions';
 import type * as grpcJs from '@grpc/grpc-js';
@@ -243,7 +244,7 @@ function getMetadata(
  * @param metadata
  */
 export function setSpanContext(metadata: grpcJs.Metadata): void {
-  propagation.inject(metadata, {
+  propagation.inject(context.active(), metadata, {
     set: (metadata, k, v) => metadata.set(k, v as grpcJs.MetadataValue),
   });
 }
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/server/patchServer.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/server/patchServer.ts
index 867919934cd..e9e8ed6f296 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/server/patchServer.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc-js/src/server/patchServer.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import {
   SpanKind,
   propagation,
   Span,
+  ROOT_CONTEXT,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { RpcAttribute } from '@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions';
 import { clientStreamAndUnaryHandler } from './clientStreamAndUnary';
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ export function patchServer(
             plugin.logger.debug('patch func: %s', JSON.stringify(spanOptions));
 
             context.with(
-              propagation.extract(call.metadata, {
+              propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, call.metadata, {
                 get: (carrier, key) => carrier.get(key).map(String),
                 keys: carrier => Object.keys(carrier.getMap()),
               }),
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc/src/grpc.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc/src/grpc.ts
index 36ace50ed07..f27492438e6 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc/src/grpc.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-grpc/src/grpc.ts
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import {
   SpanKind,
   SpanOptions,
   Status,
+  ROOT_CONTEXT,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { RpcAttribute } from '@opentelemetry/semantic-conventions';
 import { BasePlugin } from '@opentelemetry/core';
@@ -124,7 +125,7 @@ export class GrpcPlugin extends BasePlugin<grpc> {
   }
 
   private _setSpanContext(metadata: grpcTypes.Metadata): void {
-    propagation.inject(metadata, {
+    propagation.inject(context.active(), metadata, {
       set: (metadata, k, v) => metadata.set(k, v as grpcTypes.MetadataValue),
     });
   }
@@ -182,7 +183,7 @@ export class GrpcPlugin extends BasePlugin<grpc> {
               );
 
               context.with(
-                propagation.extract(call.metadata, {
+                propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, call.metadata, {
                   get: (metadata, key) => metadata.get(key).map(String),
                   keys: metadata => Object.keys(metadata.getMap()),
                 }),
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/src/http.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/src/http.ts
index 20047f29720..ccde0d4a44c 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/src/http.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-plugin-http/src/http.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   SpanContext,
   TraceFlags,
   setActiveSpan,
+  ROOT_CONTEXT,
 } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 import { BasePlugin, NoRecordingSpan } from '@opentelemetry/core';
 import type {
@@ -306,7 +307,7 @@ export class HttpPlugin extends BasePlugin<Http> {
         }),
       };
 
-      return context.with(propagation.extract(headers), () => {
+      return context.with(propagation.extract(ROOT_CONTEXT, headers), () => {
         const span = plugin._startHttpSpan(`HTTP ${method}`, spanOptions);
 
         return plugin._tracer.withSpan(span, () => {
@@ -414,9 +415,8 @@ export class HttpPlugin extends BasePlugin<Http> {
         optionsParsed.headers = {};
       }
       propagation.inject(
-        optionsParsed.headers,
-        undefined,
-        setActiveSpan(context.active(), span)
+        setActiveSpan(context.active(), span),
+        optionsParsed.headers
       );
 
       const request: ClientRequest = plugin._safeExecute(
diff --git a/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts b/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
index 000a96dee3c..38650981527 100644
--- a/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
+++ b/packages/opentelemetry-shim-opentracing/src/shim.ts
@@ -175,12 +175,11 @@ export class TracerShim extends opentracing.Tracer {
       case opentracing.FORMAT_HTTP_HEADERS:
       case opentracing.FORMAT_TEXT_MAP: {
         api.propagation.inject(
-          carrier,
-          api.defaultTextMapSetter,
           setCorrelationContext(
             api.setExtractedSpanContext(api.ROOT_CONTEXT, oTelSpanContext),
             oTelSpanCorrelationContext
-          )
+          ),
+          carrier
         );
         return;
       }
@@ -199,7 +198,10 @@ export class TracerShim extends opentracing.Tracer {
     switch (format) {
       case opentracing.FORMAT_HTTP_HEADERS:
       case opentracing.FORMAT_TEXT_MAP: {
-        const context: api.Context = api.propagation.extract(carrier);
+        const context: api.Context = api.propagation.extract(
+          api.ROOT_CONTEXT,
+          carrier
+        );
         const spanContext = api.getParentSpanContext(context);
         const correlationContext = getCorrelationContext(context);