30 May 2017: The Australian and Chinese governments are reviewing the investment and services chapters of the China-Australia free trade agreement (ChAFTA) and the associated MOU on temporary workers. DFAT called for submissions. The AFTINET submission is here.
29 May 2017: The recent announcements that the Australian Government will begin bilateral trade talks with both Peru and Hong Kong have brought the total number of ongoing negotiations Australia is engaged with to 10, plus two reviews of existing free trade agreements. Download our summary of the current status of ongoing negotiations here.
May 23, 2017: Eleven TPP countries met in Vietnam last weekend without the US to discuss the future of the failed deal, which Japan, Australia and New Zealand are pushing to resuscitate.
While there’s been a lot of hype in the headlines about a TPP revival, the actual statement agreed by TPP countries only commits them to completing a process to "assess options" for the future of the agreement before Ministers meet again on November 10-11 in Da Nang, Vietnam.
The PACER-plus deal with Pacific Island nations is likely to do more harm than good.
Sign the petition calling on Trade Ministers not to sign the deal in June as planned but instead to release the text, carry out independent analysis, and have a proper debate in their Parliaments before any decision is made.
MEDIA RELEASE, 22 May 2017: The revival of the TPP without the US proposed by trade ministers meeting in Hanoi would not be in Australia’s national interest, AFTINET Convener Patricia Ranald said today. Read the media release.
21 May 2017: Negotiations towards a bilateral free trade agreement with Hong Kong have now been officially launched. Submissions are now open. AFTINET’s submission advocates for the existing deal with ISDS to be cancelled and for ISDS to not be included in the new agreement.
Media release May 19, 2017: Prominent public health organisations, including the World Public Health Association and the Australian Public Health Association have called on trade ministers from eleven remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership countries not to attempt to resurrect the deal at their meeting in Hanoi tomorrow. Read full release here.
17 May 2017: A big thank you to all those who attended our Annual Trade Justice dinner on Tuesday night! Check out our Facebook page for more photos.
16 May 2017: A new report and campaign has been launched by the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) to reveal the threat to jobs and workers’ rights posed by the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA).
According to the ITF, the new campaign - 'TISA means trouble' - enlists the power of trade unions to fight back against the deal, which has been negotiated in virtual secrecy by the European Union and 22 other countries. Find out more via their website: www.tisameanstrouble.org