Devex writer Lean Alfred Santos reports on AFTINET and AID/WATCH's fears around the PACER-Plus trade negotiations in an article titled "PACER-Plus - Boon or Bane for Pacific Island States?"
31/07/2014
AFTINET is a small organisation with a tiny budget but we achieve a lot – we’ve had stories published in the mainstream media, held events and led campaigns which have resulted in more than 80,000 people signing petitions. We can’t do any of this without our members, who provide all of our funding and help spread our message.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for Australia to reject provisions in the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that could undermine the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and compromise the ability of governments to improve public health.
120 academic experts in trade and investment law, EU law, international law and human rights, constitutional law, private law, political economy and other fields have spoken out against planned provisions on investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
This adds to the growing opposition to ISDS worldwide.
View full text and list of signatories here
22/07/2014
The G20 Trade Ministers met in Sydney this weekend. We teamed up with the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association to perform some street theatre in Circular Quay which sent a strong message for fair trade in deals like the TPP.
21/07/2014
The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) enables Korean miners to sue states over environmental regulation. Korean companies own three of the most controversial mining projects in NSW.
As Canada hosts a round of secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks, Stephen Cornish from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has published an article in the Ottawa Citizen titled 'The TPP could be a blow to public health'.
The Wire reports on the Japan-Australia free trade agreement, including an interview with AFTINET convener, Dr Patricia Ranald.
Dr Ranald points out that until the agreement is signed, we aren't able to see the text, and argues that there should be a more democratic and transparent process for trade agreements.
8/07/2014
Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, (AFTINET) Research Associate at the University of Sydney
As an advocate for fair trade based on human rights, labour rights and environmental sustainability, I read Senator Penny Wong’s policy speech on Australia in the global economy with great interest.
Concerned about their water supply, the community in El Salvador protested a gold mine operated by Canadian company Pacific Rim, and the government responded. Now El Salvador is being sued in an international tribunal for millions of dollars over their refusal to issue a permit.
This excellent 15 minute documentary explains the community's concerns.