15 March 2017: Chilean community organisations have united to protest the TPP and the corporate agenda of regional trade deals as trade ministers meet in Viña del Mar this week to discuss the post-TPP future.
March 14, 2017: More news reports of Pacific Island workers being exploited while working in Australia show the dangers of expanding temporary foreign workers in Australia without ensuring their rights at work are protected.
MEDIA RELEASE, March 9 2017: Two hundred organisations from 15 countries have urged trade ministers meeting in Chile next week not to use the failed TPP as a model for future agreements.
March 6, 2017: Indonesia is pushing for Australia to import more palm oil and paper products as negotiations for a bilateral deal continue.
March 4, 2017: As RCEP negotiations continue in Japan, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has sent a letter to all negotiating countries to express their serious concern over provisions that threaten to restrict access to medicines for millions of people by delaying access to cheaper medicines and by allowing pharmaceutical companies to sue governments in international tribunals.
March 4, 2017: The Japanese family farmer movement recently protested outside RCEP negotiations in Kobe, Japan, with the message 'Seeds are ours!’
Photo: Japanese family farmer movement (Nouminren)’s recent action in Kobe during RCEP negotiations
March 2, 2017: AFTINET’s submission to the Foreign Policy White Paper consultation process makes 13 key recommendations for improving Australia’s future trade agreements and trade agreement processes for fairer deals in the future.
March 1, 2017: Australia and New Zealand are exerting more pressure to conclude the PACER-plus negotiations with Pacific Island nations, which have been ongoing for eight years, says PANG campaigner Adam Wolfenden.
March 2, 2017: As RCEP negotiations continue in Japan this week, copyright experts have voiced their concerns about the way the agreement’s intellectual property chapter could undermine the public interest.
28 February 2017: The Australian Government is pushing to finish negotiations for the free trade deal with Indonesia “as early as August”. While business groups are directly involved, there has been little communication with community groups.