APEC: Lots of trade talk but no clear path forward
22 November 2016: There were a lot of different media reports flying around about the future of the TPP during the APEC meeting in Lima over the weekend. Here’s our explainer.
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
And you thought the TPP was secret. The RCEP is even worse
6 November 2016: Peter Martin writes in Fairfax Media, that the RCEP is "another massive deal you've never heard of” which has ISDS on the agenda, despite the strong opposition ISDS has created to the TPP, and predicts the TPP’s demise . He cites a statement from hundreds of US law professors opposing ISDS because it would allow foreign investors to bypass "the basic procedures of the US justice system” .
International RCEP week of action
October 24, 2016: Last week was the international RCEP week of action, a coordinated week of advocacy across our region led by civil society organisations including AFTINET.
Lives on the line: online RCEP forum with MSF and AFTINET
October 19, 2016: The RCEP is an even bigger trade deal than the TPP with the same dangerous proposals. So what exactly is the RCEP and what could it mean for access to lifesaving medicines in the Asia Pacific?
AFTINET and MSF held an interactive online forum to discuss mega trade deals, corporate power and access to medicines. Watch the forum here and join the discussion on our Facebook page.
Public health groups condemn stronger medicine monopolies as RCEP talks continue
MEDIA RELEASE, 18 October 2016: Ninety-four public health and other community groups from 12 countries have condemned proposals for the inclusion of stronger medicine monopolies in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as secret negotiations continue this week in China.
The open letter to RCEP governments is available here.
RCEP: The new mega-deal that’s more secretive than the TPP
The future of the TPP is looking increasingly rocky, but global corporations and the Turnbull Government are already setting their sights on another mega-trade deal, one which is even bigger and even more secretive than the TPP: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
RCEP could block access to generic drugs: MSF
12 October 2016: Intellectual property provisions in the China-led RCEP regional trade deal could block access to life-saving drugs for millions in Africa and Asia, warns Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) regional representative Dr Maria Guevara.
"The enforcement provisions attempt to prevent the flow of generic medicines from producer to patient, thereby providing a blank cheque for abuse," she writes.
India negotiations stall with focus on RCEP
20 September 2016
Trade Minister Steve Ciobo recently called a pause and review of the bilateral trade deal the government is negotiating with India.
It appears that India has been reluctant to reduce tariffs for Australia because it wants to retain its bargaining power for the much bigger Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Door slammed on unions, health organisations at latest RCEP negotiations
Media Release, September 2 2016: More than sixty civil society organisations covering all sixteen Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries have called for meaningful stakeholder engagement after they were locked out the latest negotiating round in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Read more.
95 Asia-Pacific organisations band together against ISDS
4 August 2016
An unprecedented alliance of 95 civil society organisations from the Asia-Pacific today urged trade ministers not to include investor rights to sue governments in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, currently being negotiated in Laos.
AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said “ISDS has been a major driver of community opposition to the TPP between the US, Australia and 10 Pacific rim countries, and will generate the same strong opposition to the RCEP."