September 8, 2020: A study published by Friends of the Earth Australia in May exposed a serious level of pesticide residues on foods imported into Australia in the period 2017-19. The data came from Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service monthly Failing Food Reports.
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.