Campaigns

The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) orginally proposed to negotiate a trade agreement in goods between Australia, New Zealand and 14 Pacific Island Countries. PACER is now being expanded to include services and investment, dubbed 'PACER-Plus', and will pose even bigger problems for the Pacific Island Countries.

A PACER agreement will reduce the revenues that Pacific governments get from tariffs, reduced spending on essential services and infrastructure. Read more... 

The World Trade Organisation was formed in 1995 to replace previous trade agreements with more legally binding agreements which now cover goods, agriculture, services and intellectual property rights. The WTO has attracted protest because its agreements promote the rights of transnational investors over human rights. The WTO reaches into many areas of regulation which should be decided democratically by governments, including levels of foreign investment, the provision and regulation of essential services like health, education and water, and even the price of medicines and responses to climate change. 

AFTINET campaigns for a fair multilateral trading system which would not undermine human rights and democracy. Read more...

The Australia/US FTA was seen as unfair and rejected by many in the community, leading to the largest community debate and campaign about a trade agreement seen in Australia. There was strong community concern about the impacts of an FTA on medicine prices, local media content, quarantine standards, regulation of genetically modified food, regulation of foreign investment, and the provision and regulation of essential services. The FTA came into effect in 2005 and has affected the price of some medicines, has prompted a debate about blood processing services and has reduced the ability of governments to regulate levels of Australian ownership in essential services like water and energy.

AFTINET continues to monitor the impacts of the FTA. Read more...

Australia is now over three years into negotiating its troubled Free Trade Agreement with China which,  in its current form ,gives no recognition to human rights, labour rights or environmental protections, despite the violations of these rights in China.

The FTA would also threaten jobs in Australian manufacturing and textiles industries, many of which are located in regional areas of high unemployment.

AFTINET is campaigning to stop the China/Australia FTA. Read more...

Rural Japanese widely rejected the prospect of entering into an FTA with Australia that would undermine their food security by voting against the government in 2007 elections. They fear that Australia's interest in gaining greater access to the dairy, beef, rice, and wheat markets in Japan will dramatically undermine the livelihoods of many farmers and rural communities.

AFTINET is working with Japanese organisations to campaign against this agreement. Read more...