ASEAN/NZ/Australia FTA

AFTINET submission to the Review of ISDS in the Australia-NZ-ASEAN free trade agreement

February 6, 2022:This revision of the ASEAN agreement (AANZFTA) was begun under the Morrison coalition government and Labor Trade Minister Farrell announced on November 14 that in-principle agreement has been reached on most issues. The text will not be released until after it is finalised. The RCEP and CPTPP texts are being used as models. The provisions on corporate rights to sue governments (Investor-State Dispute Settlement or ISDS) arrangements are still being reviewed.

ASEAN/NZ/Australia Free Trade Agreement

The negotiations between ASEAN, New Zealand, and Australia for a Free Trade Agreement concluded at the ASEAN Economics Ministers Meeting on Closer Economic Relations in August 2008. The agreement was signed at the East Asia Summit in February 2009.

ASEAN is comprised of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, the Phillipines, Brunei, Laos, and Vietnam.

The inclusion of Burma in the agreement amplifies AFTINET's concerns about the need to ensure that our trading practices strengthen human rights commitments, not undermine them.