Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

June 7: The ALP trade policy released today shows the influence of community campaigning. It includes the release of draft texts during negotiations and tabling text of proposed agreements in Parliament before signing.ISDS provisions would be excluded from future agreements and be reviewed in existing agreements. Labour market testing would be reintroduced for temporary skilled workers.  AFTINET will publish an evaluation of all major parties' trade policies soon.

21 May 2016

Kyla Tienhaara (ANU) and Belinda Townsend (Deakin University) write that it is India, rather than China, that has been the most outspoken in opposing US-style trade rules in the RCEP.

30 April 2016

Trade experts including AFTINET’s Convener Dr Patricia Ranald, the Public Health Association’s Dr Belinda Townsend and Dr Kyla Tienhaara from the ANU travelled to Perth to attend Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) stakeholder consultations.

At a lively public forum attended by around 50 people, they warned of the dangers in the RCEP deal, which includes the 10 ASEAN countries plus Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, India and South Korea.

27 April 2016

A draft Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intellectual Property chapter was leaked online last week and it raises concerns about access for medicines, especially in low and middle income countries.

The twelfth round of negotiations towards the agreement are currently taking place in Perth.

Dr Belinda Townsend from the Public Health Association of Australia has published a blog on the leaked chapter and its implications for access to medicines, which you can read here.

12 February 2016

When Trade Minister Andrew Robb signed the TPP he told the Fairfax press that he was now setting his sights on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The two deals combined would create “a vast trade agreement architecture” for the world, he said.

September 2015: RCEP negotiations between Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, India and 10  ASEAN countries are now considering proposals for stronger monopolies on medicines and for foreign investor rights to sue governments over changes to domestic legislation, and aiming to finish the negotiations in 2016, AFTINET has done a second submission which addresses these issues in more detail.