November 6, 2017 “The Australian Government should oppose foreign investor rights to sue governments in the talks attempting to resurrect the TPP without the US later this week,” AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today.

The talks will take place in da Nang, Vietnam on November 8-9, ahead of the APEC meeting to be held on November 10.

“Investor-State Dispute Settlement, known as ISDS, allows foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments for millions of dollars in unfair international tribunals, as occurred when the Philip Morris tobacco company sued the Australian government over our public health tobacco regulation. Most TPP governments only reluctantly agreed to ISDS in the original TPP because the US insisted on it as a condition of access to US markets. With the US no longer involved it makes no sense for the Australian government to continue to support it,” said Dr Ranald

Media Release January 31, 2017: "The latest leaked  Trade in Services documents confirm that the negotiations are driven by the interests of global services companies that want to maximise profitable trade in services and minimise government regulation in the public interest. Many of these are similar to proposals in the now-dead Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network of community groups (AFTINET) said today. Read the full release here.

MEDIA RELEASE, 16 March 2017: Representatives from all TPP countries except the US missed an opportunity to strive for fairer trade deals when they praised the dead TPP in a statement following a meeting today in Viña del Mar, Chile.

Read the full press release here.

Media Release: 6 February, 2017: Fifty-three diverse health, church, union, environment and aid organisations representing more than two million Australians have endorsed a letter calling on Labor to reject the failed TPP and ensure fairness in future trade deals, including the RCEP.

“Not only would it be futile to endorse an agreement that would never come into effect but it would also be damaging for future trade debate in Australia,” they write.

“Instead of endorsing a failed agreement, we urge you to embrace the opportunity for better trade deals in the future, which support rather than undermine labour rights, access to medicines, and democratic rights to regulate in the public interest.”

January 24, 2017: Dr Particia Ranald's oped in the Fairfax media argues for inclusive and progressive fair trade policies as an alternative to both fundamentalist 'free' trade and Trump and Hansen's  knee-jerk nationalism and discrimination based on fear.

Media Release: February 27, 2017: Negotiations between Australia, New Zealand China, India, Japan, South Korea and 10 ASEAN countries continue this week for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Kobe, Japan. The negotiations are held in secret, and the Japanese government has been reluctant to allow community groups to meet with negotiators, only arranging a short meeting with little notice. Negotiations will continue through 2017.