This page brings together media reports and resources specifically on the health impacts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.

• Resources
• Media Reports 

Resources:

Updated chart on US proposals which impact on Health and medicines - March 2012: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/sites/default/files/Chart on US TPPA Proposal Australian Law and Access to Medicines March2012.pdf

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS): the threat to health, environment and other social regulation.(Paper presented at the Stakeholders Forum, eighth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, September 10, 2011, Chicago, USA.)

Community Education Leaflet: On 17th February AFTINET released an updated version of our community education leaflet on Health issues in the TPPA. For a copy of the leaflet follow this link.

Follow this link to download a chart outlining the US proposals.

Health Issues Letter to Australian Trade Minister, Dr Emerson.

Doctors Without Borders/Medicines Sans Frontiers: Issues Paper on the TPPA: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/2011/MSF-TPP-Issue-Brief.pdf

Copy of Leaked US Text on Intellectual Property Rights is available from: http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2011/10/22/leaked-trans-pacific-fta-texts-reveal-u-s-undermining-access-to-medicine/

Media Reports:

Media Releases:

11 November 2011 - Pacific Trade Pact misses APEC deadline as community groups slam US proposals on medicines and corporate rights - For a full copy of the media release follow this link.

25 October 2011 - AFTINET & PHAA Joint Media Release - United States Undermines Access To Medicines in Australia & Pacific.

31 August 2011 - AFTINET TPPA Health Impacts Media Release.

Media Reports on Melbourne Round of Negotiations:

The Conversation: 20 March 2012, 6.15am AEST.
Australia should defend neighbours in Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations - by Dr Deborah Gleeson.
From: https://theconversation.edu.au/australia-should-defend-neighbours-in-trans-pacific-partnership-negotiations-5902

ABC Radio Australia: 9 March 2012, 22:51.
TPP Negotiators say FTA won’t harm healthcare – host Karon Snowden
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/tpp-negotiators-say-fta-wont-harm-healthcare?autoplay=423330

The Conversation: 8 March 2012, 3.00pm AEST.
Why Australia’s medicine cabinet is almost bare – by Simon Quilty
http://theconversation.edu.au/why-australias-medicine-cabinet-is-almost-bare-5761

Australian Doctor: 6 March 2012.
Fear of drug price hikes with trade plans - by Alex Hayes
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/fear-of-drug-price-hikes-under-free-trade-plans

Community Radio "The Wire": 6 March 2012
ISDS, tobacco plain packaging and access to medicines – host Melissa Lahoud.
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=8883

ABC Radio National Breakfast show: 6 March 2012.
US pressuring Pacific countries to agree to intellectual property policies which could restrict access to generic drugs
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/2012-03-06/3870570

Canberra Times (oped): 5 March 2012.
Australia must fight for cheap life-saving medicines – by Kelly Nicholls
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/australia-must-fight-for-cheap-lifesaving-medicines-20120304-1uarv.html

SBS Radio World News Program: 5 March 2012.
Concern over trade agreement effects on medicines – by Murray Silby
http://www.sbs.com.au/podcasts/naca/radionews/episode/205889/Concern-over-trade-agreement-effects-on-medicines

The Age: 3 March 2012.
Dr David Legge’s letter on TPP to The Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/beware-the-treaty-negotiated-in-secret-20120302-1u8j7.html

ABC Radio The World Today: 1 March 2012, 18:00.
PM urged to block US on intellectual property rights – by Eleanor Hall
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-01/pm-urged-to-block-us-on-intellectual-property/3862730

Medical Search: 1 March 2012
NGOs call on govt to prioritise access to generic drugs - by Public Health Association of Australia.
http://www.medicalsearch.com.au/News/NGOs-call-on-govt-to-prioritise-access-to-generic-drugs-58099

Medical Journal of Australia, 196: 1-3.
Challenges to Australia's national health policy from trade and investment agreements - by Gleeson D, Tienhaara K and Faunce T (2012)
https://www.mja.com.au/sites/default/files/issues/196_05_190312/gle11635_fm.pdf

ABC Radio, World Today: 1 March 2012.
PM Urged to block US on intellectual property rights – host Eleanor Hall, reporter Anna MacDonald interviews Rob Lake about criticisms of the TPPA because of its threat to affordable medicine for people with HIV / Aids.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3443359.htm

Sydney Morning Herald – 25 February 2012.
Health groups gasp over tobacco show plans - by Mark Metherell
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/health-groups-gasp-over-tobacco-show-plans-20120224-1tudv.html 

Media on Leaked US Intellectual Property Rights Text:

Opinion Piece, 26/10/2011, on leaked US IP proposals impacting on access to Medicines and Health: http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/10/26/us-proposals-give-big-pharma-more-power-over-patents-prices/

or if you don't subscribe to Crikey follow this link: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/articles/2011/opinion/trans-pacific-partnership-agreements

Also now on the Croakey Blog site: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2011/10/27/us-wants-to-give-pharma-more-power-over-our-medicines-policy/

TPPA Plain Packaging Media Reports:

Media Report, 16/09/2011, on Australian Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, attendance at the UN summit on Chronic Diseases, from Sydney Morning Herald: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/roxon-to-talk-tough-on-tobacco-at-un-20110916-1kcwf.html

Speech, 19/09/2011, by Australian Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, attendance at the UN summit on Chronic Deceases, from Minister of Health website: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/ministers/publishing.nsf/Content/EBF8A5ABB7DBD92ECA257910007DCFAC/$File/nr189.pdf 

Media Reports resulting from the Launch on 1st September 2011 of AFTINET's "Don't Trade Away health" leaflet:

New trade agreement threatens Australia’s laws on medicines and tobacco
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2011/09/01/new-trade-agreement-threatens-australias-laws-on-medicines-and-tobacco/#more-6176

Patent talks lift fear of drugs price rise
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/patent-talks-lift-fear-of-drugs-price-rise/2278634.aspx

TPPA Chicago Negotiating Round Health Media Reports:

Media Release, 08/09/2011, from medicines Sans Frontier and Doctors without Borders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/press/release.cfm?id=5519&cat=press-release&ref=home-sidebar-right

Media Report, 12/09/2011, on New Zealand US Council views in National Business Review (New Zealand): http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/steady-progress-tpp-says-jacobi-cw-100380

Media Report, 12/09/2011, on US White paper on Medicines from AAP: http://aap.newscentre.com.au/cpsunat/110914/library/free_trade/26645613.html

Media Report, 12/09/2011, on the threat to generic medicines from the TPPA, from News Medical: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110912/Access-to-lifesaving-generic-medicines-threatened-by-US-trade-pact.aspx

Media Report, 12/09/2011, on calls from health groups to ban both alcohol and tobacco from the TPPA from New Zealand Herald:  http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/call-bar-alcohol-and-tobacco-tpp-cw-100374

Media Report, 13/09/2011, from New Zealand Union – the National Distribution Union on US White Paper on Medicines from Yahoo News: http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/10248464/us-white-paper-on-medicines-window-dressing/

Media Report, 13/09/2011, on International Civil Society views of US White Paper on Medicines from Voxy (New Zealand): http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/us-white-paper-medicines-window-dressing/5/101280

Media Release, 13/09/2011, by Dr Jane Kelsey on US White Paper on Medicines from Scoop (New Zealand): http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1109/S00188/us-white-paper-on-medicines-issued-at-tppa-talks-in-chicago.htm

Media Report, 13/09/2011, on US White Paper on Medicines from Trading Room: http://www.tradingroom.com.au/apps/view_breaking_news_article.ac?page=/data/news_research/published/2011/9/256/catf_110913_090200_9553.html

Media Report, 13/09/2011, on US White Paper on Medicines from New Zealand Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10751470

Blog Piece, 13/09/2011, by Rashmi Rangnath asking if the stakeholder meetings in Chicago were simply lip service: http://www.publicknowledge.org/blog/was-tpp-stakeholders-forum-just-lip-service

Commentary, 14/09/2011, on US White Paper on Medicines from Intellectual Property Watch (IP-Watch): http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/09/14/ustr-white-paper-on-trade-in-medicines-raises-questions/

Media Report, 14/09/2011, on current state of negotiations from the perspective of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions from Voxy (New Zealand): http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/tppa-talks-show-signs-mounting-conflicts-ctu/5/101351

Media Release, 14/09/2011, from the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions from Business Scoop (New Zealand): http://business.scoop.co.nz/2011/09/14/tppa-more-movement-on-customs-queues-than-dairy-exports/

Media report, 14/09/2011, on US delays in presenting text on sensitive topics in the TPPA from Reuters: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFS1E78D1YP20110914

Media Opinion Piece, 15/09/2011, on the risks to health from trade agreements by Dr David Legge and Dr Deborah Gleeson in the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/public-health-at-risk-in-trade-talks-20110914-1k94z.html

Blog Piece, 15/09/2011, by Sharon Treat asking why the US is negotiating to reduce access to affordable medicines: http://sharon-treat.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-is-us-government-negotiating-trade.html

Blog Piece, 16/09/2011, by Dr Deborah Gleeson about undermining access to medicines in trade negotiations: http://theconversation.edu.au/trade-talks-set-to-undermine-access-to-medicines-for-the-worlds-poor-3392

Media Report, 16/09/2011, on Health group opposition to threats posed in the TPPA on tobacco and medicines from the Centre fro Policy Development: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/16/3915142/health-groups-oppose-threats-on.html

Media Report, 16/09/2011, on the conclusion of the TPPA negotiations in Chicago and the controversial aspects from Progress Illinois: http://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2011/09/16/controversial-trans-pacific-trade-free-talks-end  

Corporate opinion piece, 18/09/2011, from big pharma in support of the USTR’s white paper on access to medicines from Securing Pharma: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/1041.php

Media Report, 19/09/2011, about Malaysian Health Minister on Malaysia’s opposition to delays in access to Generic Drugs at the UN summit on Chronic Deceases, from Liow Tiong Lai: http://www.liowtionglai.com/English/ViewPressstatement.aspx?ID=d7350f29-81c8-42ba-902b-a6cae2b4e9d4

Return to Top of Page.

Return to TPPA Health Issues Page.

Return to Main TPPA Page.

Trading away public health? Health issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

The Australian government is negotiating a Trans- Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with the United States, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

But the agenda on health issues is being set by giant US corporations. Leaked US documents reveal that pharmaceutical companies are demanding higher prices for medicines through changes to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and more rights to delay access to cheaper generic medicines. US tobacco companies like Philip Morris are demanding the right to sue governments over proposed tobacco plain packaging legislation. Negotiations are ongoing. We must urge our government to stand by its policies and refuse these demands.

The latest round of TPPA negotiation is set to take place in Melbourne during the 1st to the 9th of March.

Australian government policy, recently amended at the ALP conference, should mean that it refuses demands to reduce our health, environmental and cultural regulation, and supports enforceable labour rights and environmental protections.  But there is enormous pressure from the US to reach agreement.

We need to have a strong voice from unions and community groups at the negotiations to ensure that the policy is implemented without concessions and so AFTINET is publicising a number of events to make sure this happens.

The following events are open to the general public and we encourage you to participate and spread the word throughout your networks so we have as many people as possible come along.

Follow this link for a copy of our flyer for the Melbourne Round events.

Follow this link for more information on the Melbourne Round events.

• Thursday 1^st March from 6:00-8:00pm - Public Forum ( Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement – Fair Trade or Free Trade)
• Monday 5^th March – 6:00-7:30pm – Public Forum ( TPPA and Access to Medicines)  
• Thursday 8^th March – 12:30-1:15pm International Women's Day Public Rally/ Protest Meeting "Fair Deal or No Deal"

Monday 5^th March – 6:00-7:30pm – Public Forum

TPPA and Access to Medicines (title: To Be Confirmed)

Speakers include:

-          Ms Sanya Reid-Smith, Third World Network.

-          Mr John Rock, APN + People Living With HIV in the Asia Pacific Region.

-          Mr Matt Cleary, Medecins Sans Frontieres.

      Chair Deborah Gleeson, Public Health Association of Australia.

Sponsored by Public Health Association of Australia (Victorian Branch), the Nossal Institute for Global Health and the People's Health Movement of Australia.

Venue: University of Melbourne, Executive Lounge, 1st Floor, Alan Gilbert Building, 161 Barry Street (corner Grattan and Barry Sts) Melbourne

Map: http://maps.unimelb.edu.au/parkville/building/104

RSVP for catering purposes by 2 March to: Brigitte Tenni, email: btenni@unimelb.edu.au or ph: 61 3 8344 1868.

For a copy of the flyer follow this link .

October 2011 - UNITED STATES UNDERMINES ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC - a joint media release from AFTINET and the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) issued on 25/10/2011

AFTINET and PHAA jointly commented on leaked documents on the United States position. A copy of the leaked documents is avilable from : http://www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/blog/2011/10/22/leaked-trans-pacific-fta-texts-reveal-u-s-undermining-access-to-medicine/.

Leaked proposals for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement confirm United States (US) efforts to undermine access to medicines in Australia and the Pacific, according to the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) and the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET).  “The Australian public should be concerned about the effects secret trade discussions being conducted in Peru this week could have on the affordability of medicines in Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific region,” said PHAA Spokesperson Dr Deborah Gleeson.

Leaked texts outlining US proposals for the TPP free trade agreement confirm earlier reports that the US is seeking to include provisions that would raise the cost of medicines, extend the monopoly rights of pharmaceutical companies over life-saving drugs and place new restrictions on pharmaceutical reimbursement programs like Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

“These sorts of provisions have no place in trade agreements.  The operation of the PBS and similar schemes in other countries should not be determined by international trade rules that can override domestic policies,” said AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald. 

For a full copy of the media release follow this link.

Community Education Leaflet

On 17th February AFTINET released an updated version of our community education leaflet on Health issues in the TPPA. For a copy of the leaflet follow this link.

Media Release

AFTINET and People’s Health Association of Australia (PHAA) issued a joint media release on September 1st 2011 highlighting the health issues involved in the TPPA negotiations. For a copy of the media release follow this link.

US Proposals to delay access to cheaper medicines

Follow this link to download a chart outlining the US proposals.

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS): the threat to health, environment and other social regulation.

Paper presented at the Stakeholders Forum, eighth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, September 10, 2011, Chicago, USA. Follow this link to download the full paper.

Summary: This paper provides a brief overview of the experience of investor state disputes settlement (ISDS) and the debate about ISDS in Australia, which resulted in its exclusion from the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) negotiated in 2004. The evidence on ISDS was re-examined by the Australian Productivity Commission in its 2010 Report, which found no evidence to justify ISDS but found evidence of considerable policy and financial risk to legitimate social regulation. ISDS action by the Philip Morris Company against Australian tobacco plain packaging legislation under a 1993 Hong Kong-Australia bilateral investment treaty has further influenced Australian government policy against ISDS, and has probably strengthened government and public opposition.

What you can do?
There are several things you can do:

• Write a letter to Dr Emerson, Australia’s Trade Minister – a draft letter is available for download by following this link.
• If you prefer you can email Dr Emerson by following this link.
• Visit your local MP, take the leaflet with you and let them know you are concerned about the issue.
• Let your friends know and give them a link to AFTINET’s website: www.aftinet.org.au.

Follow this link to the AFTINET TPPA Health Media and Resources Page.

PHMOz on TPPA Health Impacts:
The People's Health Movement Australia (PHMOz) is concerned about proposed intellectual property and investment provisions in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that could undermine public health regulation and access to essential medicines. PHMOz has published an analysis on their website:
"The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement: Implications for public health regulation and access to medicine."

Follow this link to their website.

Return to Top of Page

Go to Main TPPA Campaign Page

Go to the TPPA Health Media and Resources Page

Go To TPPA Resources Page

Return to Front Page News

Trading away public health? Health issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement

Public Meeting Thursday, September 1

Trading away public health? Health issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement Thursday, September 1

The Australian government is negotiating a Trans- Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with the United States, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.
 

But the agenda on health issues is being set by giant US corporations. Leaked US documents reveal that pharmaceutical companies are demanding higher prices for medicines through changes to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and more rights to delay access to cheaper generic medicines. US tobacco companies like Philip Morris are demanding the right to sue governments over proposed tobacco plain packaging legislation. Negotiations are continuing in September. We must urge our government to stand by its policies and refuse these demands.
 
Public meeting 12:30-1.30 PM, Thursday, September 1
 Jubilee room, New South Wales Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney

Speakers include:
 Dr Deborah Gleeson, Public health Association of Australia.
 Dr Patricia Ranald, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network
 A representative of the National Association of People Living with HIV AIDS

The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network will be launching a leaflet explaining the issues and what you can do about them.

Trading away public health? Health issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement Thursday, September 1

The Australian government is negotiating a Trans- Pacific Partnership free trade agreement with the United States, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.
 

But the agenda on health issues is being set by giant US corporations. Leaked US documents reveal that pharmaceutical companies are demanding higher prices for medicines through changes to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and more rights to delay access to cheaper generic medicines. US tobacco companies like Philip Morris are demanding the right to sue governments over proposed tobacco plain packaging legislation. Negotiations are continuing in September. We must urge our government to stand by its policies and refuse these demands.
 
Public meeting 12:30-1.30 PM, Thursday, September 1
 Jubilee room, New South Wales Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney

Speakers include:
 Dr Deborah Gleeson, Public health Association of Australia.
 Dr Patricia Ranald, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network
 A representative of the National Association of People Living with HIV AIDS

The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network will be launching a leaflet explaining the issues and what you can do about them.

Please RSVP by cob August 31 to Harvey Purse campaign@aftinet.org.au, ph 02 9212 7242.

Return to Main TPPA Campaign Page: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement

Return to Front Page: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/

This page has been created to provide details of the commencement of the TPPA Campaign and some background informaiton.

Campaign Sign On:

Thirty Australian unions and community groups, on Sunday 14th March 2010, asked the Trade Minister to safeguard the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Australian local content in media, regulation of GE food, regulation of foreign investment and industry policies that support local employment in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations started on Monday March 15.

It isn’t too late to join the campaign. If your organisation wishes to join the campaign please contact the AFTINET Trade Justice Campaigner either by email to campaign@aftinet.org.au or phone 02 9212 7242.

Follow this link to read the statement and to download the joint statement and the media release.

Individuals can get directly involved by emailing Dr Emerson or by downloading and mailing a letter to Dr Emerson.

Background:

You may remember the campaign in 2003-4 about the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The US government and companies identified the following Australian health, social and environmental polices as barriers to trade that they wanted to remove or change:

• Price controls under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which ensure affordable access to medicines and kept Australian medicine prices three to ten times below US prices.
• Labelling of genetically engineered food.
• Australian content rules in audio-visual media like film and television.
• The Foreign Investment Review Board.
• Quarantine regulations.
• Local content requirements for government purchasing.

The US government also wanted an investor-state disputes process, which would have given US companies the right to sue Australian governments for damages on the grounds that environmental or other public interest laws could harm their investments. US companies have used this process in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to sue Canadian and Mexican governments for millions of dollars and to force them to change environmental protection laws which were different from US laws.

Our biggest victory was the exclusion of the investor-state complaints process, which means that US companies did not gain extra rights to sue Australian governments. The Australia-US FTA is the only US free trade agreement which does not include this process. We also prevented changes to genetically engineered food regulation, and limited the changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The agreement also had very weak labour and environment clauses, which were not legally based on International Labour Organisation standards, but committed each government only to implement its own laws, with no penalties.

All of these issues are now back on the agenda, because the Australian government has agreed to negotiate with the US, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore New Zealand and Vietnam to develop a multilateral free trade agreement based on the bilateral FTAs the US has with five of these countries.

This means that all of the issues we kept out of the US–Australia FTA will be up for negotiation again. We know from submissions made by US business groups that they want to use the negotiations to obtain more changes in all of the areas listed above. And there will be strong pressure for Australia to accept an investor-state complaints process, because four of the other bilateral FTAs include this process.

TPPA Petition to House of Representatives:

AFTINET has commenced a petition to the Commonwealth Parliament House of Representatives about the Trans Pacific Partnership free trade agreement currently being negotiated by the US, Australia New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The petition asks the House of Representatives not to support any agreement which would undermine the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and charge higher prices for medicines, give special rights for corporations to sue governments, remove labeling of genetically modified food, undermine local jobs and fair employment conditions for government contracts, or weaken policies for Australian content in film, television and digital media. It also asks the House of Representatives to support the inclusion of enforceable labour rights and environmental protections in the agreement, and to support publication of the text of the agreement for public and parliamentary debate before it is ratified.

Please note that the rules for Parliamentary petitions mean that the words of the petition must appear above all signatures, and that blank forms containing only signatures are not valid. In addition faxed or copied signatures are also not accepted under parliamentary rules, so it is important to return the original signed petition pages.

We are asking you to distribute multiple copies of  the petition to your networks as soon as possible and ask them to collect signatures and return the original signed copies by post to the AFTINET address on the form by September 9, 2011.

AFTINET intends to present the petition to parliament imeadiately after the negotiating round in Chicago scheduled for September 6th-14th, 2011.

You can download the petition by following the link at the bottom of this page.

Return to TPPA Campaign Page.

Return to In the News Page.

The AFTINET Trade Justice campaigner, Harvey Purse, attended the Auckland negotiations on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th December, 2011 and a meeting of civil society groups on Sunday 5th. Much thanks needs to be extended to the SPSF, AMWU and ANF for their financial assistance, which ensured that AFTINET was present in Auckland to lend support to our New Zealand allies and take a look on the inside. AMWU Representative, Don Sutherland and NTEU Representative, Ted Murphy, also attended the meeting.

AFTINET attended stakeholder events during both days. In addition there was a meeting each day of civil society stakeholders who were present from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. It was a valuable experience meeting key players in NZ, planning our approach for the day and coordinating.

To start civil society actions for the week a joint cross-Tasman letter, signed by more than 60 Australian and New Zealand civil society groups, was sent to New Zealand Prime Minster John Kay and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calling on both governments to resist the United States Investment agenda and reject outright the inclusion of investor-state disputes processes. (see the letter on the AFTINET website: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/tppa-resources-page.)

As the negotiations started a great protest got underway near the entrance to the venue – the Conference centre of the Sky Casino – with the theme “Gambling with our Future”. The protest featured speakers from several unions, academics and Auckland City Council and some great street theatre. This received good media coverage in New Zealand, which is on our website: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement/tppa-media-reports-our-campaign.

Main Issues – Auckland Summary:
Market Access Provisions: By the 5th round of negotiations in Chile, from 14th-18th February 2011, initial offers on goods market access, including agriculture will be made. It should then be clear whether any existing FTA market access schedules will be re-opened.

Transparency/Access to negotiations: The lack of transparency and two levels of access continued in New Zealand. However a “release the text” campaign has commenced out of the negotiations and the leaked New Zealand text on Intellectual Property Rights. (see the letter and leaked text on the AFTINET website: http://aftinet.org.au/cms/tppa-resources-page.)

The stakeholders attending were a mixture of groups - about 66% corporate and 33% unions, critics and activists. There were some critical business people, especially from the IP sector. The formal stakeholders activities were self-initiated and the pro-TPP lobby complained to MFAT (New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade) about lack of ‘balance’.

However, corporations were invited to address the formal negotiating meetings. The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), US Chamber of Commerce and Fedex addressed the negotiators on the first morning session on regulatory coherence. Later, Toll Holdings (PPP roads etc), the Medical Technology industry and NZ Winegrowers spoke to a Thursday session. In contrast non-business stakeholders, such as AFTINET, had no access to these sessions and were only able to attend stakeholder sessions run outside the negotiating timetable.

Regulatory coherence: “Regulatory coherence” is driven by a desire from business interests for common rules of entry and activity in markets. It was repeatedly stated by both negotiators and business representatives that this will lead “deep behind the border into domestic regulatory space”. For example they would like to have safety approval for a product in one country to apply to all countries. This could severely limit the ability of each country to set its own safety, health, environmental, qualification and other quality standards. As noted, it is being driven by business interests from a supply chain point of view. It was conceded that this process left out other stakeholders.

It is clearly an area with potential to limit the space of government’s to legislate and regulate in the public interest and has the potential to be a race to the bottom.

Investment: It would appear that the text is well advanced and is based on the original text that was carried over from the P4 plus US talks, where an investor-state dispute process was part of the US agenda and placed on the table. Investor-state is currently ‘in play’, but they are not yet at the point of needing to resolve issues.

It would appear that the standard US agenda of liberalisation of investment provisions is the basis for the talks.

Trade in Services: Cross border trade in services text is somewhat advanced as it is based on pre-existing text. Most countries had now presented their contributions and disagreements. It appears that the approach will be based on the “negative list” approach rather than our preferred campaigns “positive list” approach.

It is clear from the Australian Services Roundtable event that Financial Services, Education, IT and Health Services are the main areas of offensive interest to Australia on Trade in Services.

Labour Rights Chapter: The US position is not entirely clear due to the midterm congressional election outcome – the US team emphasised the need for them to go back to congress to determine the position and whether the US-Peru Labour Chapter was still the negotiating position.

Reports from a meeting with Australian Labour Chapter negotiators and unions indicate that the Australians were not particularly enthusiastic. It was stated that the Australia-US FTA has a labour chapter which was there because the US insisted, and that it goes further than New Zealand’s labour agreements but not as far as the US-Peru chapter.

It appeared that the Australian negotiators are not keen on such provisions (and there are mixed messages from Australian Labor Government Trade Ministers), but are prepared to consider the US-Peru FTA chapter as a model. There is acceptance of including a reference committing to the ILO Declaration on Core Labour Standards, but it would be “more difficult” to obtain commitments making direct reference to the conventions themselves. Text on Labour is likely to happen “soon” – there is pressure to get some text for next round.

Environment: The focus appears to be on environmental goods and services rather than protection of the environment. This potentially could cover highly controversial areas such as water supply and services, waste water, and many other areas affecting local government.

Intellectual Property Rights: We heard nothing about the negotiations as such, but outside them there was a leak of the New Zealand position paper. The paper did not support any extensions of corporate intellectual property rights beyond current WTO agreements and is clearly in conflict with the US standard position, which is to have “WTO-plus” provisions.

For example, there was pressure from a lobbyist Croplife International (represented by Agcarm, New Zealand) for data protection for 10 years for test data from licensing processes on the grounds that it “encourages innovation”. The same claim is being made for medicines by pharmaceutical firms. The aim and the effect is to prevent competition from generic competitors. It therefore drives up prices.

There are reports out of the US which indicate that the US is only interested in an agreement which “raises the norms on IP”. (see http://www.keionline.org/node/1035)

Other Areas of Discussion: It is clear that the following areas are also under discussion and having varying levels of advancement including:

• Government Procurement (an interesting report is that the Australian Government does not see PPP’s as part of government procurement).
• Food and Quarantine Standards and customs cooperation.
• New Members – accession – appears to be by request but lacking any details.
• Competition Policy.
• Capacity building and cooperation.
• E-commerce.
• Rules of Origin (ROO).
• Business Mobility
• Telecommunications

Follow this link to return to Main TPPA Page.

TPPA Campaign: Don’t trade away health, labour, cultural and environmental policies

More than thirty Australian unions and community groups today, Sunday 14th March 2010, asked the Trade Minister to safeguard the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Australian local content in media, regulation of GE food, regulation of foreign investment and industry policies that support local employment in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations which start on Monday March 15.

The following is the joint statement:

The Australian Government is involved in negotiations for a Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) with the US, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam to develop a multilateral agreement based on the bilateral agreements the US has with five of these countries. This will resurrect all of the issues that were debated in the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

The Howard Government negotiated the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement in 2003-4. The US government and companies identified the following Australian polices as barriers to trade that they wanted to remove or change as part of the free trade agreement:

• Price controls under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which ensure Australians affordable access to medicines
• Labelling of genetically engineered food
• Australian content rules in audio-visual media like film and television
• The Foreign Investment Review Board
• Quarantine regulations
• Local content requirements for government purchasing

The US government also wanted an investor-state disputes process, which would have given US companies the right to sue Australian governments for damages on the grounds that environmental or other public interest laws could harm their investments. US companies have used this process in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to sue Canadian and Mexican governments for millions of dollars.

There was strong community opposition to the US agenda, because we believed that health, environmental, social and cultural policies should be decided through democratic parliamentary processes, not secretly bargained away in trade agreements.

The community campaign did have an impact. There was no investor-state disputes process, no changes to GE food labelling, and limited changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and local media content.

The agreement also had very weak labour and environment clauses, which were not legally based on International Labour Organisation standards.

The TPPA means that all the issues we kept out of the US–Australia Free Trade Agreement will be up for negotiation again. We know from submissions made by US business groups that they want to use the negotiations to obtain more changes in most of the areas listed above, and to push for an investor-state complaints process.

The government has said that they will try to use the agreement to improve Australian access to US agricultural markets, but the danger is that further changes to the PBS and the other policies will be demanded as trade-offs.

We are asking the government to adopt the following principles in the TPPA negotiations:

• No further changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme which would reduce affordable access to medicines
• No investor-state disputes process which would give special rights to international corporations to sue governments for damages
• Full rights to regulate labelling of genetically engineered food and to regulate GE crops, including existing moratoria
• No further weakening of Australian Government power to regulate audiovisual media for Australian content purposes
• Retention of the Foreign Investment Review Board, and of its powers to review foreign investment in the public interest
• No weakening of quarantine regulations
• No reductions in the ability to have local content requirements for government purchasing and industry policies that support local employment
• Strong labour clauses that require signatories to enforce the core International Labor Organisation’s (ILO) standards in the ILO Conventions, with trade penalties for non-compliance
• Strong environmental clauses that require signatories to meet all applicable international environmental standards including those contained within UN environmental agreements, with trade penalties for non compliance.

The following organisations support these principles:

We are campaigning to prevent these health, cultural and environmental policies from being traded away.

Get Involved and Stay in Touch – check back regularly and follow the link below to find out more about the campaign and what actions you can take.

Follow this link to return to our TPPA Campaign Page.

By following this link you can now Send an Email to Craig Emerson.

To Download the Statement select this link and the Media Release follow this link.

Our Campaign has gained some media attention: follow this link to read them.