RCEP negotiations to continue into 2018
September 12, 2017: RCEP Ministers met last week in Manila to assess progress in the negotiations. Filipino community groups met with negotiators and organised forums and protests.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
Civil society groups urge Philippine trade negotiators to leave RCEP
Civil society groups including People Over Profit, Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) and Ibon Foundation met with Philippine trade officials on September 4 to express their strong opposition to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), ahead of the 5th ministerial talks in Manila on September 10.
Trading Privatisation Forum August 31 Sydney
This forum will examine how trade agreements like TiSA, the TPP and the RCEP promote deregulation, commercialisation and privatisation of services ranging from health, education and childcare, aged care and disability care to public transport, energy and water. It will also discuss strategies to defeat them.
Huge community movement challenges RCEP in Hyderabad, India
July 24, 2017: Media Alert: “The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network strongly supports the community mobilisation taking place in India on July 24 to challenge TPP-like corporate proposals in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” said AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald today.
“Concerted campaigning by public health, trade union and environmental organisations stopped the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the same agenda for corporate powers to sue governments and stronger monopolies on medicines and seeds is emerging in the RCEP.
Video of community protest at RCEP talks in Hyderabad, India
July 25, 2017: Media Release: The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network strongly supports the community protests in Hyderabad that challenged TPP-like proposals in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 19th round of negotiations this week,” said AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald today.
Economist slams ISDS in RCEP
August 3, 2017: Economist Smitha Francis’ article in the Indian journal Business Today has strongly criticised India’s continuing participation in the RCEP negotiations because of the challenge to India’s sovereignty from the proposed Investor-State Disputes Settlement process.
RCEP secrecy can’t hide TPP-like proposals as Hyderabad talks finish
July 30, 2017: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks in Hyderabad, India, ended on Friday July 28 under a shroud of secrecy, but serious differences remain on medicines, copyright, e-commerce, government procurement, and investor rights to sue governments .
India at loggerheads with RCEP on govt procurement
July 28, 2017: According to The Hindu, India is being pressed in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks in Hyderabad to make binding commitments to open up its government procurement sector - by China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and two ASEAN bloc members, Singapore and Malaysia.
RCEP consultations without text a sham say community groups
July 27, 2017: Members of community groups who attended brief consultations with negotiators at the RCEP talks in Hyderabad said that the refusal to disclose details of proposals meant the consultations were inadequate and demanded publication of negotiating texts.
Low income women hardest hit by RCEP proposals
July 26, 2017: Women's organisations, including small farmers and informal workers, were prominent in RCEP protests held in Hyderabad this week. The Hindu reports that increased global corporate rights could have severe impacts on women. For example, women farmers use seeds saved from the previous harvest. Patenting of seeds by global companies would price them out of reach.