Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET) in Ultimo, New South Wales | Non-governmental organisation (NGO)

Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)

Locality: Ultimo, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 9699 3686

Address: 7/321 Pitt Street 2000 Ultimo, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.aftinet.org.au

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23.01.2022 Cardinals call out ISDS as corporate secret weapon and call for enforceable regulation of global corporations. The cardinals noted that the Global Compact of 2000 and the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights of 2011 are not legally-binding. Since self-regulation has proven to be insufficient, we argue that new laws to regulate the private sector must be binding. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1895

23.01.2022 AFTINET submission on Singapore Digital agreement will assess protection of privacy and other public interest regulation. The Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement was signed on August 6 and the text was tabled in Parliament on August 24, which triggers an inquiry by the joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT). http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1914

23.01.2022 AFTINET calls for more transparent trade process Conversation article ahead of public hearing. In current negotiations for a European Union Australia Free Trade Agreement, Australians know that the EU is demanding longer medicine monopolies only because the EU publishes its negotiating texts. The Australian government does not, so we dont know their response. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1910

23.01.2022 No ISDS in proposed UK Japan Free Trade Agreement It appears that the Japanese and British governments will not be sued by UK and Japanese corporations under the terms of a proposed free trade agreement which they want to conclude by January 1, 2021. That is when the United Kingdom is expected to finally break with the European Union, with or without a trade agreement. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1903

21.01.2022 http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1913

21.01.2022 Pesticide residues on imported food deregulation at work. A study published by Friends of the Earth Australia in May exposed a serious level of pesticide residues on foods imported into Australia in the period 2017-19. The data came from Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service monthly Failing Food Reports. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1921

19.01.2022 Barrick Australia sues Papua Niugini to hold onto lucrative Porgera gold mine. Canadian company Barrick Gold announced on July 10 that its Australian subsidiary, Barrick Australia Pty Ltd, is invoking the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions of a bilateral investment treaty between Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia over the PNG governments refusal to grant an extension of the companys expired permit at the controversial Porgera Joint Venture gold mine in the PNG highlands. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1896

17.01.2022 ISDS, Climate Change provoke push to end the Energy Charter Treaty. The Energy Charter Treaty with its Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions has become a major obstacle to the Paris Climate Agreement, and current European efforts to reform it appear unlikely to succeed. EU parliamentarians are now calling for states to withdraw from it by the end of 2020. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1922

17.01.2022 RCEP Trade Ministers want to sign in November but still hoping India may re-join. The sudden resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for health reasons, removes one of the main leaders pushing for India to return to the RCEP. So far India has not shown signs of returning to the deal. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1917

16.01.2022 EU Court decision that US does not meet data privacy standards could challenge data reregulation through trade deals. The ruling may also have implications for digital trade chapters in trade agreements like the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement and current WTO negotiations, which propose deregulation of data flows across borders without adequate privacy safeguards. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1900

14.01.2022 Malaysian government decision not to ratify CPTPP comes under pressure. Darell Leiking, Malaysias former minister of international trade and industry and MP for Penampang has confirmed that on November 29, 2019, the government decided that it had made the right decision in not ratifying the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This was based on a one-year research effort, which had found potential negative impacts on domestic industry. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1906

14.01.2022 AFTINET tells public hearing that the EU knows more than Australians about our trade talks, and calls for change. We call for the release of trade agreement texts and independent evaluation of their costs and benefits before they are signed. Parliament should debate and vote on the whole agreement, to ensure public accountability, said Dr Ranald. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1912

13.01.2022 Big Techs Plans for New WTO Rules over Data Access and Control Exposed. Companies like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft want to secure new agreements at the World Trade Organization that would allow them greater access to and ownership of data with minimal restrictions. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1898

11.01.2022 More ISDS cases launched against Latin American states amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A new report by the Netherlands-based Transnational Institute reveals a rush of international arbitration cases against Latin American states by international investors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some cases relate to pandemic control measures, and others to ongoing cases. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1918

11.01.2022 Japan backs ISDS in fierce debate at Energy Charter Treaty review. Reports on the Energy Charter Treaty process to modernise continue to demonstrate entrenched opposition to efforts to make it support the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees C. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1924

06.01.2022 European Parliament strongly backs WHO effort for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The European Commission and many EU states are yet to embrace the WHO initiative and the European parliaments vote 526 in favour, 105 against and 50 abstentions puts significant pressure on them to join in. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1897

06.01.2022 Palmer threatens to use foreign investor rights to sue the Australian government after moving assets to Singapore. The Melbourne Age has reported that Clive Palmers Singapore-based company, established in 2019, could use foreign investor rights in the Singapore-Australia free trade agreement to claim billions in compensation because the WA government passed legislation terminating a legal dispute over an iron ore project, which had been running since 2012. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1915

05.01.2022 Singapore digital trade signed and text released: Big Tech deregulation agenda. The government claims it breaks new ground and goes further than the CPTPP and other agreements on deregulating cross-border data flows and preventing access to source code by government regulators. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1907

05.01.2022 UK and Japan agree on trade deal that opens door for Britain to join the CPTPP. The deregulation of digital trade agreed by the UK and Japan ensures that this will be a significant issue in the UK-Australia trade negotiations. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1923

05.01.2022 Mining companies dominate ISDS treaty-shopping claims from Australian companies. Australia, with its many Bilateral Investment Treaties and FTAs, contributes to a system of forum shopping by mining companies looking to sue governments over unfavourable decisions. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1919

04.01.2022 COVID-19 vaccine race reinforced by trade rules for monopolies on medicines. A short but growing list of countries are now signing pre-order contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers for possible COVID-19 vaccines, which could leave behind most of the worlds population in 2021. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1909

04.01.2022 UK Japan trade deal hints at agenda for proposed UK-Australia FTA. Digital Commerce and Investor-State Dispute Settlement are key issues. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1908

04.01.2022 Greens propose further review of Australia - Hong Kong FTA but no support from major parties. The Senate was asked to consider the appropriateness of the A-HKFTA given the passage and imposition of China's national security law in Hong Kong. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1920

04.01.2022 Indian government to stay out of RCEP and review all FTAs. All options are on the table There is a view that if any trade agreement has not worked out as expected, we should also look at exiting such a deal, one official said. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1902

03.01.2022 AFTINET submission to the parliamentary committee review of the trade agreement process seeks change. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed flaws in trade policy including over-dependence on imports of essential health products and lack of local manufacturing capacity. The process for negotiating, signing and ratifying trade agreements should be subject to the highest levels of public debate, scrutiny and democratic accountability to ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs.... But this is not the case. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1904

03.01.2022 Wave of ISDS cases threatened against British government COVID-19 actions. The Guardian (UK) has reported a series of law firms advising clients to use Investor-State Dispute Settlement clauses in trade and investment agreements to recover or prevent loss resulting from COVID-19-related government actions. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1911

02.01.2022 Civil society groups urge G20 Finance Ministers meeting on July 19 to cancel debt and increase health care in low income countries. In 2020 the group of 76 poorest countries are due to spend just over US$40 billion repaying debt. #CancelTheDebt #dropdebtsavelives http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1899

02.01.2022 Big Pharma imposes monopoly rights in COVID-19 vaccine race. Initial commitments by university-based vaccine developers and the World Health Organisation to provide COVID-19 vaccines to all manufacturers without paying high monopoly prices have been overwhelmed by the pharmaceutical industrys absolute commitment to intellectual property rights, according to a report in Fortune Magazine. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1916

01.01.2022 Explainer - Trade and Global initiatives to make COVID-19 vaccine available to all. The World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement entrenches 20-year monopolies for new medicines before cheaper versions can be produced. However there are some provisions that allow governments to import or manufacture cheaper versions before patents have expired in a national emergency. This was a result of public protest at the cost of Anti-Retroviral drugs during the Aids pandemic in 2002-04. C-TAP, COVAX, CEPI and Gavi are different initiatives to stop patent rights in TRIPS from blocking treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 from being universally available at low cost. http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1901