March 5, 2018: The inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the rebranded ‘Comprehensive Progressive’ Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), set for signing on March 8 in Chile, puts Australia’s democracy and sovereignty at risk.
March 1, 2018: The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has published new analysis about labour mobility under the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which is summarised in a Sydney Morning Herald article. They say Australia has done less than other partner countries to protect local jobs in the CPTPP.
22 February, 2018: Yesterday the New Zealand government published the full text of the ‘Comprehensive Progressive’ Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement, which Australia and 10 other countries intend to sign on March 8 in Chile, along with a National Interest Analysis of the deal.
Media release, February 21 2018: “The new text of the revised and rebranded Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership between Australia and 10 other countries without the US contains minor additional change since last November. Some other governments have demanded further changes, but the Australian government has not,” Dr Patricia Ranald, AFTINET Convener said today.
12 February 2018: The latest round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement have just concluded in Jakarta. Japan, the second largest exporter of intellectual property in the world, is leading the push for extended intellectual property protections.
January 31, 2018: Unions across the Asia-Pacific have condemned the latest version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the poorly named ‘Comprehensive Progressive Agreement on TPP’.
The 11 remaining countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership have agreed on a new text and new name to revive this failed agreement, but it is still a bad deal. They agreed to rename the deal and to suspend some of its most controversial clauses, pending the possible US return to the agreement, and it was signed on March 8, in Chile. But it is still a bad deal. It includes foreign investor rights to sue governments, restrictions on regulation of essential services and more vulnerable temporary workers without testing if local workers are available. The implementing legislation will be reviewed over the next few months by a parliamentary committee on which the government has a majority. Send a message to the opposition parties and independents to demand a Senate Inquiry and independent assessment of the real costs of the deal.
Send a message to demand a Senate Inquiry that can assess the real costs of the re-badged TPP!
25 January, 2018: Yesterday it was reported that the rebranded TPP11 deal has been finalised, and the 11 remaining TPP countries are hoping to sign the text on March 8 in Chile.
Media release, 24 January 2018: “The rebranded TPP 11 outcome announced today appears to be a mess of separate deals cobbled together to meet issues raised by Canada and others, which Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has described as “18 free trade agreements” for Australia.
