September 13, 2018: On August 30, 2018, a 3-person ISDS panel sitting in The Hague ruled that Ecuador’s judicial system had no right to deal with a claim for damages brought by indigenous communities against the Chevron oil company for pollution of the Amazon and damage to the health of local communities by its subsidiary, Texaco, in the period 1964-92.
MEDIA RELEASE
September 11, 2018: “By deciding to endorse the TPP-11 implementing legislation, the majority in the ALP Caucus has made a decision contrary to their own policies, and has deeply disappointed many community organisations,” AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today.
September 10, 2018: The Australian reports that Senator Rex Patrick has said the Centre Alliance will block the implementing legislation for the TPP-11 unless the deal is significantly amended, which would require re-opening of negotiations with 10 other countries.
September 6, 2018: Australian big business commissioned economic modelling of the impact of the proposed TPP-11 and released it yesterday, only to expose the failure of the deal to deliver tangible benefits even after 12 years.
September 4, 2018: The public statement of RCEP Ministers from 16 countries following their meeting last week welcomed plans to achieve a package of certain targets in the negotiations by the end of 2018, but gave no details about what those targets were.
This is consistent with the secrecy and lack of accountability of these negotiations. The only hints of the issues were in media reports.
September 3, 2018: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo have announced the completion of talks for an FTA but as usual we won’t see the text until after it is signed in two months’ time, and the text can’t be changed.
August 30, 2018: The Australian Greens have initiated yet another new inquiry by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee into the TPP-11 implementing legislation (the two Customs Bills introduced into the House of Representatives on August 23). The inquiry website is here.
August 29, 2018: The Victorian government commissioned a study by private consultants of the impact of the TPP-11 on Victorian export firms.
The study was a late submission to the JSCOT inquiry and mentioned in the ALP critical remarks on the JSCOT report (p.86) .
August 27, 2018: Three MPs who are part of the new Pakatan Harapan parliamentary majority in Malaysia have denounced the TPP-11 as “progressive in name only”, and called on the incoming government to withdraw from it, rather than go ahead to ratify it.
August 22, 2018: Dr Patricia Ranald's article TPP 11: Corporate Favours Masquerading as Free Trade has been published on investigative journalist Michael West's website.