June 24 2019: Leaders of the ten ASEAN countries met in Bangkok on June 22 and urged support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade and investment deal between ASEAN and India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. But community organisation advocates meeting before the ASEAN summit argued that the RCEP development model favours international investor interests over people and the environment.

June 19: Join us on Tuesday June 30 for an evening of delicious Turkish food, entertaining speakers and great company at our annual fundraising dinner. All proceeds will support AFTINET's trade justice campaigns.

June 12, 2019: A new study of trade and investment deals concluded in 2018 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that most have either omitted ISDS altogether or severely limited its scope. This reflects growing concerns about ISDS cases based on older treaties that have no provisions to prevent or limit foreign investors from suing governments over health, environment and other public interest laws. The UN Commission on on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)  is currently conducting a review of ISDS based on such concerns which has prompted sharp debate.

June 5, 2019: President Trump has shocked Britain by declaring that the US would demand that NHS be opened up to privatisation by US health and pharmaceutical companies in post-Brexit negotiations for a US-UK free trade agreement.

June 3, 2019: Based in Victoria and concerned about the social and environmental risks of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement? Join AFTINET's campaign events in Melbourne on July 1-2, as the Australian government hosts the next round of RCEP negotiations.

June 3, 2019: A new report by the European Public Health Alliance has identified nine risk areas for public health in EU trade deals being negotiated with Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay Paraguay and Chile.

May 30, 2019: In a recent interview with Reuters Columbia University Professor Joseph Stiglitz has slammed trade deals that include Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). ISDS enables foreign investor rights to sue governments for millions in international tribunals over changes to environmental laws.

May 29. 2019: The latest report by the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which monitors known cases of global corporations suing governments, shows the number of ISDS cases reached 942 with 71 new cases by the end of 2018. This continues the rapid growth in cases over recent years and it is predicted that the total number of cases could reach 1000 in 2019.

May 27, 2019: A new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and European research groups analyses the history of trade agreement provisions that seek to “harmonise”  government regulation dealing with health and environmental regulation. The study includes World Trade Organisation agreements, and more recent regional and bilateral trade agreements.

May 22, 2019: Legal academics have confirmed  that the recent Indonesia trade deal has no provisions to cancel the old 1993 Indonesia-Australia bilateral investment agreement, which will remain in force alongside the new agreement.