AFTINET's convener Dr Patricia Ranald spoke to ABC radio this morning from Brunei, where she is observing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) currently under negotiation.
Dr Ranald reports on the progress of the negotiation and talks about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) and how it could affect our health and environmental regulation, using the examples of tobacco and coal seam gas mining.
As negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) continue in Brunei, the Sydney Morning Herald's Peter Martin reports on the unresolved issues, including a tobacco clause which would allow tobacco companies the right to sue governments when nations put in place regulation in the interests of public health.
The Malaysian Reserve reports that the Malaysian Cabinet has dropped any timeline for finishing the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement following a campaign by a coalition of NGOS and the stance of the Malaysian Opposition, who express concerns that the TPP is mainly in the economic, business and geopolitical interests of the United States.
Proposals in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement for investor rights to sue governments threaten the ability of our governments to regulate in the interests of the public and the environment, including on Coal Seam Gas (CSG) issues.
Canada signed an agreement with the United States giving investors the right to sue governments in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Now, the US Lone Pine energy company is suing the provincial government of Quebec for $250 million because they imposed a moratorium on shale gas mining pending an environmental study. In a similar way, farmers and members of the community here have influenced the NSW and Victorian state governments to also adopt moratoriums to examine the impact of coal seam gas mining on land use and the environment. If the right for corporations to sue governments is agreed in these negotiations, our governments could be sued in the same way as the Quebec government.
This would undermine the ability of our community to insist upon environmental regulations to protect our communities and farmlands.
You can send a letter about this issue directly to Trade Minister Andrew Robb
For more information, see AFTINET's leaflet: Free Trade Agreement could prevent regulation of Coal Seam Gas mining
Writing for Canada's The Star, Michael Geist asks whether it matters where you store your electronic data - including your emails, documents and photos.
He is concerned about the potential for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement to prohibit governments from implementing privacy protections requiring that data is stored locally. He argues that this represents a privacy risk.
Three Chilean senators have formally requested a public debate on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), based on concerns that the agreement may not benefit Chile, is being negotiated in secret, and could reduce access to information on the internet and extend copyrights.
It appears that proposals on state owned enterprises in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) could also apply to enterprises at the state government level, which means they could affect our public hospitals.
A number of Australian health organisations and AFTINET have sent a letter to Trade Minister Richard Marles outlining our concerns that the TPPA could affect the operation of public hospitals and asking that public hospitals be clearly excluded from these proposals.
Writing for the Canberra Times, Thomas Faunce argues that the differing positions on international trade between the Labor/Greens and the Liberals are an election issue.
In a recent piece published by the Lowy Institute, Amy Schwebel warns that including clauses in trade agreements that allow foreign corporations to sue governments could limit government policy decisions based on public interest, hence jeopardising Australia's sovereignty.
Six nations, including Australia, have pushed against US pressure to extend patent rights on medicines in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), according to an article published by the Sunday Star Times.
The US led proposal could delay the entry of generic medicines into the market and undermine the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.