August 29, 2017: Dr Patricia Ranald, Convenor of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, and University of Sydney Research Associate, explains why governments should not revive the zombie TPP.
Media Release August 28, 2017: Community groups will rally today outside a meeting of trade negotiators from 11 of the original 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries* who are discussing whether the TPP can be revived without the US, and how much the text should be changed.
“Trade Minister Ciobo should not be supporting revival of the dead TPP without change when there is strong community opposition and the Australian Parliament has not endorsed it,” said Dr Patricia Ranald, convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET).
Public health and other community organisations from most TPP countries have also written to all TPP ministers warning that TPP provisions would have serious consequences for the health of the people in TPP countries.
August 24, 2017: Public health and other community organisations from most TPP countries have written to all TPP ministers warning that TPP provisions would have serious consequences for the health of the people in countries, the availability of affordable medicines, the ability of foreign corporations to sue governments over health protection laws, and the processes for approving pharmaceuticals for subsidies.
The open letter has been signed by prominent international and national health bodies, including the World Federation of Public Health Associations and the Public Health Association of Australia. The letter advises the ministers that “the only truly acceptable approach to ensure adequate and effective protection of health and access to affordable medicines in all TPP11 countries is to renegotiate the whole TPP”.
Health, consumer and patient groups who have signed include Médecins Sans Frontières, HIV/AIDs groups from Vietnam and Malaysia, the Latin American Alliance for access to medicines, and medical workers associations, consumers and unions from Australia, Japan and many other TPP11 countries.
The 11 remaining countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership are continuing to meet in an effort to revive this failed agreement. They missed their deadline of November 11 2017, and the talks were only salvaged by an agreement to rename the deal, suspend some of its most controversial clauses and to have further talks over several months on issues raised by Canada and other governments.
Send a message to the Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo telling him not to revive the zombie TPP!
August 23, 2017: Bernard Keane in Crikey has summarised a recent Productivity Commission report that strongly criticises the Australian government’s approach to free trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The report condemned Australia’s refusal to independently evaluate the supposed benefits of the TPP, its willingness to include investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), and the secret nature of the negotiations.
Media Release August 18, 2017: “Trade Minister Ciobo should not be leading the charge to revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership, when there is strong community opposition and the Australian Parliament has not endorsed it,” AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald aaid today.
Senior trade negotiators from 11 TPP countries, including Australia, met again in Japan on July 11-14 to discuss the options for a version of the TPP without the US. This followed a trade ministers meeting held in May which decided to explore options for a version of the TPP without the US.
July 17, 2017: Leaked Philip Morris documents for the years 2009-2016 reveal its massive effort to neutralise the United Nations Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as well as Australia’s plain packaging law.
July 10, 2017: Media Release: “We welcome the international tribunal decision that Philip Morris tobacco company should pay the costs of its failed case against Australia’s 2011 plain packaging law. But it is absurd and unacceptable that the tribunal has not released the amount of the costs, which have been blacked out of the published decision,” Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today.
