AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK June 10, 2021: Médecins sans Frontières has welcomed the opening of text-based negotiation at the World Trade Organisation as a major breakthrough for South Africa, India and 63 sponsoring low- and middle-income countries, supported by over 100 countries in total.The revised proposal seeks suspension of patent monopoly rights for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment during the pandemic. AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PROFESSIONALS TELL MORRISON GOVT TO June 9, 2021: The Morrison Coalition government has been urged by 156 Australian lawyers and legal academics to support the proposed suspension of patents on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment, as the Prime Minister takes part in the G7 deliberations on this issue.. In an Open Letter organised by La Trobe academic Dr Julia Dehm, the signatories said: “We write as Australian lawyers

BULLETINS | AFTINET

AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORD October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) November 18, 2020: Just a few days prior to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), economic experts, business owners, civil society organisations and parliamentarians expressed their concerns about its impact on developing countries in a regional webinar.. The webinar was organised by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD), Public Services TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP May 10, 2021 ; The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed in 2018 by 11 countries: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam, after the US withdrew in 2017.The remaining 11 re-badged the agreement as the CPTPP and suspended some of its most controversial clauses. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act which was passed in October 2018 with other implementing UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local manufacturing jobs and training in regional Australia, and congratulated union members who campaigned for the policy. PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a THE INJUSTICE INDUSTRY: EGYPT CHALLENGED OVER RISE TO Le Monde Diplomatique reports that the Veolia group, a French multinational, is suing the Egyptian government because of a rise in the monthly minimum wage. The company is using the ISDS provisions in an investment treaty between France and Egypt. The case is still in progress, but is yet another example of the dangers of including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in trade AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK June 10, 2021: Médecins sans Frontières has welcomed the opening of text-based negotiation at the World Trade Organisation as a major breakthrough for South Africa, India and 63 sponsoring low- and middle-income countries, supported by over 100 countries in total.The revised proposal seeks suspension of patent monopoly rights for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment during the pandemic. AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PROFESSIONALS TELL MORRISON GOVT TO June 9, 2021: The Morrison Coalition government has been urged by 156 Australian lawyers and legal academics to support the proposed suspension of patents on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment, as the Prime Minister takes part in the G7 deliberations on this issue.. In an Open Letter organised by La Trobe academic Dr Julia Dehm, the signatories said: “We write as Australian lawyers

BULLETINS | AFTINET

AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORD October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) November 18, 2020: Just a few days prior to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), economic experts, business owners, civil society organisations and parliamentarians expressed their concerns about its impact on developing countries in a regional webinar.. The webinar was organised by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD), Public Services TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP May 10, 2021 ; The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed in 2018 by 11 countries: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Vietnam, after the US withdrew in 2017.The remaining 11 re-badged the agreement as the CPTPP and suspended some of its most controversial clauses. PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act which was passed in October 2018 with other implementing UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local manufacturing jobs and training in regional Australia, and congratulated union members who campaigned for the policy. PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a THE INJUSTICE INDUSTRY: EGYPT CHALLENGED OVER RISE TO Le Monde Diplomatique reports that the Veolia group, a French multinational, is suing the Egyptian government because of a rise in the monthly minimum wage. The company is using the ISDS provisions in an investment treaty between France and Egypt. The case is still in progress, but is yet another example of the dangers of including investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in trade AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK May 10, 2021: The US now supports changing trade rules to speed up access to COVID-19 vaccines for all - and so should Australia!. Under current trade rules, pharmaceutical companies control access to vaccines, rich countries are at the head of the queue and most people in poor countries will not get vaccines until 2023. EU PROPOSAL FOR WTO VACCINE RULES A DIVERSION TO DELAY media release june 8, 2021 AUSTRALIAN LEGAL PROFESSIONALS TELL MORRISON GOVT TO June 9, 2021: The Morrison Coalition government has been urged by 156 Australian lawyers and legal academics to support the proposed suspension of patents on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment, as the Prime Minister takes part in the G7 deliberations on this issue.. In an Open Letter organised by La Trobe academic Dr Julia Dehm, the signatories said: “We write as Australian lawyers

AFTINET MEMBERSHIP

AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. WTO STARTS TALKS FOR TEXT TO ENABLE GLOBAL ACCESS TO COVID June 10, 2021: Médecins sans Frontières has welcomed the opening of text-based negotiation at the World Trade Organisation as a major breakthrough for South Africa, India and 63 sponsoring low- and middle-income countries, supported by over 100 countries in total.The revised proposal seeks suspension of patent monopoly rights for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and 50,000 AUSTRALIANS COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF TRIPS WAIVER June 7, 2020: Ahead of a World Trade Organisation meeting on June 8-9, a group of civil society organisations including AFTINET, Amnesty International Australia, GetUp!, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, Public Services International and the Humanism Project gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Sydney to hand over more REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) November 18, 2020: Just a few days prior to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), economic experts, business owners, civil society organisations and parliamentarians expressed their concerns about its impact on developing countries in a regional webinar.. The webinar was organised by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD), Public Services AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK The China-Australia FTA text released on June 17, 2015 shows the Australian government made huge concessions on temporary labour and investor rights in its desperation to complete the deal. AFTINET's preliminary analysis reveals that the Australian Government has increased temporary labour mobility and has agreed that Chinese investors will be able to sue Australian governments if they can PACER-PLUS | AFTINET AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. THE AUSTRALIA-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: AN ENVIRONMENTAL Contents Executive Summary i Introduction 1 1. Increased Agricultural Production for Export 3 1.1 Current Trends in Agriculture & the Environment 4 1.2 Increased Water Use Under an FTA 7 1.3 Increased Energy Use Under an FTA 8 1.4 Other environmental impacts 9 2. AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK The RCEP fails the human rights test. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The Trans-Pacific Partnership (now the TPP-11) was originally a massive free trade agreement involving Australia, the US and ten other countries, which reduces our democratic rights while increasing the rights of global corporations. The US withdrew in 2017, and it became the TPP-11, with some changes, but most of its worst features remain. EU-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations for an EU-Australia FTA began in July 2018 and are likely to continue for the next two years. Australia is seeking greater market access for its agricultural goods and for manufacturing and services exports. The danger is that it will trade off other important policies in return for these. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORD October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD Parliamentary Committee says Australia should join the WTO Procurement Agreement. April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the THE AUSTRALIA-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: AN ENVIRONMENTAL Contents Executive Summary i Introduction 1 1. Increased Agricultural Production for Export 3 1.1 Current Trends in Agriculture & the Environment 4 1.2 Increased Water Use Under an FTA 7 1.3 Increased Energy Use Under an FTA 8 1.4 Other environmental impacts 9 2. UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT Union welcomes Labor policy for local jobs in government procurement. January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK The RCEP fails the human rights test. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The Trans-Pacific Partnership (now the TPP-11) was originally a massive free trade agreement involving Australia, the US and ten other countries, which reduces our democratic rights while increasing the rights of global corporations. The US withdrew in 2017, and it became the TPP-11, with some changes, but most of its worst features remain. EU-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations for an EU-Australia FTA began in July 2018 and are likely to continue for the next two years. Australia is seeking greater market access for its agricultural goods and for manufacturing and services exports. The danger is that it will trade off other important policies in return for these. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORD October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD Parliamentary Committee says Australia should join the WTO Procurement Agreement. April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the THE AUSTRALIA-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: AN ENVIRONMENTAL Contents Executive Summary i Introduction 1 1. Increased Agricultural Production for Export 3 1.1 Current Trends in Agriculture & the Environment 4 1.2 Increased Water Use Under an FTA 7 1.3 Increased Energy Use Under an FTA 8 1.4 Other environmental impacts 9 2. UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT Union welcomes Labor policy for local jobs in government procurement. January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK May 10, 2021: The US now supports changing trade rules to speed up access to COVID-19 vaccines for all - and so should Australia!. Under current trade rules, pharmaceutical companies control access to vaccines, rich countries are at the head of the queue and most people in poor countries will not get vaccines until 2023.

DONATE | AFTINET

Donate. AFTINET relies on the money provided by supporters to continue to do the work that we do. We are an independent organisation and don't receive any government or corporate funding. If you would like to see AFTINET continue to monitor and campaign for a trading system that supports human rights, labour rights and environmental AFTINET PRINCIPLES, AIMS & OBJECTIVES AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. 50,000 AUSTRALIANS COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF TRIPS WAIVER June 7, 2020: Ahead of a World Trade Organisation meeting on June 8-9, a group of civil society organisations including AFTINET, Amnesty International Australia, GetUp!, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, Public Services International and the Humanism Project gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Sydney to hand over more

BULLETINS | AFTINET

AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. Read about our successes. Tweets by @AFTINET. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON DIGITAL June 4, 2021: The Australian Human Rights Commission final report on human rights and technology, released on April 27, 2021, deals with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in decision-making, and how people with disabilities experience digital communication technologies.. The report argues that human rights should be embedded into all aspects of law, policy development and decision-making. GUARDIAN OPED: ISDS PROPOSAL IN AUSTRALIA June 2, 2021: AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald warns in the Guardian about the dangers of UK proposals to include ISDS in the FTA. UK companies are frequent users of ISDS with 90 recorded cases. Inclusion of ISDS would expose Australia to UK company cases for the first time. She warned that big UK companies such as mining company Rio Tinto and aged care owner Bupa could sue Australia, just PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked documents during the negotiations showed EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK The RCEP fails the human rights test. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The Trans-Pacific Partnership (now the TPP-11) was originally a massive free trade agreement involving Australia, the US and ten other countries, which reduces our democratic rights while increasing the rights of global corporations. The US withdrew in 2017, and it became the TPP-11, with some changes, but most of its worst features remain. EU-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations for an EU-Australia FTA began in July 2018 and are likely to continue for the next two years. Australia is seeking greater market access for its agricultural goods and for manufacturing and services exports. The danger is that it will trade off other important policies in return for these. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORDASTRAZENECA GATES FOUNDATIONASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICAL AND BILL GATES October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD Parliamentary Committee says Australia should join the WTO Procurement Agreement. April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the THE AUSTRALIA-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: AN ENVIRONMENTAL Contents Executive Summary i Introduction 1 1. Increased Agricultural Production for Export 3 1.1 Current Trends in Agriculture & the Environment 4 1.2 Increased Water Use Under an FTA 7 1.3 Increased Energy Use Under an FTA 8 1.4 Other environmental impacts 9 2. UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT Union welcomes Labor policy for local jobs in government procurement. January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK The RCEP fails the human rights test. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP The Trans-Pacific Partnership (now the TPP-11) was originally a massive free trade agreement involving Australia, the US and ten other countries, which reduces our democratic rights while increasing the rights of global corporations. The US withdrew in 2017, and it became the TPP-11, with some changes, but most of its worst features remain. EU-AUSTRALIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Negotiations for an EU-Australia FTA began in July 2018 and are likely to continue for the next two years. Australia is seeking greater market access for its agricultural goods and for manufacturing and services exports. The danger is that it will trade off other important policies in return for these. HOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION SWUNG THE OXFORDASTRAZENECA GATES FOUNDATIONASTRAZENECA PHARMACEUTICAL AND BILL GATES October 7, 2020: The Nation magazine has started the investigation of investments that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation may have in the pharmaceutical companies wanting to manufacture possible COVID-19 vaccines. The Gates Foundation is the key funder of Gavi The Vaccine Alliance and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, as well as being a co-leader in the World PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE SAYS AUSTRALIA SHOULD Parliamentary Committee says Australia should join the WTO Procurement Agreement. April 1, 2019: The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has produced Report 185 recommending that Australia accede to the revised WTO Procurement Agreement (GPA). There is no implementing legislation because the only required legislation for accession was the THE AUSTRALIA-US FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: AN ENVIRONMENTAL Contents Executive Summary i Introduction 1 1. Increased Agricultural Production for Export 3 1.1 Current Trends in Agriculture & the Environment 4 1.2 Increased Water Use Under an FTA 7 1.3 Increased Energy Use Under an FTA 8 1.4 Other environmental impacts 9 2. UNION WELCOMES LABOR POLICY FOR LOCAL JOBS IN GOVERNMENT Union welcomes Labor policy for local jobs in government procurement. January 22, 2019: The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union President Andrew Dettmer yesterday welcomed the announcement of an ALP national procurement policy that will apply to Commonwealth government purchasing of $50 billion per year. He said it would create more local EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect PACER-PLUS: DEVELOPMENT OR FREE TRADE IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDS? PACER-Plus: Free trade in the Pacific? Australia and New Zealand have long encouraged neighbouring Pacific Island Countries to adopt “free trade” and further integrate their economies into a AFTINET | AUSTRALIAN FAIR TRADE & INVESTMENT NETWORK May 10, 2021: The US now supports changing trade rules to speed up access to COVID-19 vaccines for all - and so should Australia!. Under current trade rules, pharmaceutical companies control access to vaccines, rich countries are at the head of the queue and most people in poor countries will not get vaccines until 2023.

DONATE | AFTINET

Donate. AFTINET relies on the money provided by supporters to continue to do the work that we do. We are an independent organisation and don't receive any government or corporate funding. If you would like to see AFTINET continue to monitor and campaign for a trading system that supports human rights, labour rights and environmental AFTINET PRINCIPLES, AIMS & OBJECTIVES AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. 50,000 AUSTRALIANS COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF TRIPS WAIVER June 7, 2020: Ahead of a World Trade Organisation meeting on June 8-9, a group of civil society organisations including AFTINET, Amnesty International Australia, GetUp!, NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, Public Services International and the Humanism Project gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Sydney to hand over more

BULLETINS | AFTINET

AFTINET is a network of community organizations and individuals that has campaigned since 2000 for a fairer and more democratic global trade system, based on human rights and environmental sustainability. Read about our successes. Tweets by @AFTINET. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS ON DIGITAL June 4, 2021: The Australian Human Rights Commission final report on human rights and technology, released on April 27, 2021, deals with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in decision-making, and how people with disabilities experience digital communication technologies.. The report argues that human rights should be embedded into all aspects of law, policy development and decision-making. GUARDIAN OPED: ISDS PROPOSAL IN AUSTRALIA June 2, 2021: AFTINET Convenor Dr Patricia Ranald warns in the Guardian about the dangers of UK proposals to include ISDS in the FTA. UK companies are frequent users of ISDS with 90 recorded cases. Inclusion of ISDS would expose Australia to UK company cases for the first time. She warned that big UK companies such as mining company Rio Tinto and aged care owner Bupa could sue Australia, just PACER-PLUS | AFTINET PACER-Plus. The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations - Plus (PACER-Plus) agreement between Australia, New Zealand and 12 Pacific Island countries was finalised in Brisbane in April 2017. PACER-plus negotiations began in 2009 with 14 Pacific Island countries involved in the talks. The deal was signed on June 14, 2017, but the two REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but l eaked documents during the negotiations showed EU-AUSTRALIA TRADE AGREEMENT COULD MEAN HIGHER MEDICINE 25 September 2018: A recent article in The Conversation by public health experts confirms that the EU is seeking stronger monopolies on medicines, including the most expensive biologic medicines used to treat cancer and other life-threatening diseases. This would delay the availability of cheaper versions of those medicines. If Australia agrees, these provisions would have the likely effect

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THE RCEP COULD UNDERMINE POST-COVID RECOVERY, WORKERS' RIGHTS AND

ENVIRONMENT

The  Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations began in 2012 between 16 countries: India China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and the 10 ASEAN countries, which represented half the world's population. The RCEP text remained secret until after it was signed, but leaked documents  during the negotiations showed that the RCEP could have included corporate rights to sue governments, stronger monopolies on medicines that would delay the availability of cheaper generic medicines, restricted regulation of essential services and allow for more temporary workers vulnerable to exploitation, without any protections for workers’ rights or the environment. We linked with similar campaigns in other countries to oppose these damaging proposals. CAMPAIGN ACHIEVEMENTS: INDIA WITHDRAWS AND SOME DAMAGING PROPOSALS

REMOVED

In November 2019, 15 governments claimed they had completed the text of the deal, but strong community campaigns from Indian civil society forced the Indian government to withdraw,

which

reduced its claimed benefits for Australia and other countries. Some of the most damaging clauses like corporate rights to sue governments and stronger medicine monopolies  have been removed. The negotiations were  delayed by India's withdrawal and the text

was

signed and released on November 15, 2020. SEE AFTINET'S INITIAL MEDIA RELEASE ABOUT THE SIGNING HERE AND AN EXPLAINER ARTICLE ABOUT

THE RCEP TEXT HERE

Learn more about the key issues that arose in the eight years of

RCEP:negotiations

* Secrecy

* Access to medicines * Corporate rights to sue governments (ISDS)

* Workers’ rights

* Essential and Public Services * Environment and food production * Copyright and consumers

LEARN MORE:

* Dr Patricia Ranald's explainer article after the RCEP text was released on November 15, 2020 * AFTINET and 93 other groups from RCEP countries call for the r

elease

of RCEP text

before

it is signed in 2020 (November 2019) * Dr Patricia Ranald's _The Conversation_ article explaining why India left the RCEP negotiations

(November

2019)

* Dr Patricia Ranald's _The Conversation_ article on reports that RCEP will not include ISDS * Expert study  condemns secrecy as RCEP talks resume in Bangkok  (20 July 2018) * Free trade or women's rights?

(11 January 2018)

* Video: Dr Pat Ranald introduces the RCEP

(March 2017)

* Why are small-scale farmers protesting the RCEP?

(4 March 2017)

* RCEP: copyright provisions could ‘stifle creativity'

(2 March 2017)

* Time for progressive fair trade policies

(Dr

Patricia Ranald in the _Sydney Morning Herald_, 25 Jan 2017) * The hidden costs of RCEP and corporate trade deals in Asia (Report by Transnational Institute et al, 8 Dec 2016) * MSF (Doctors without Borders) briefing on RCEP threats to affordable medicines (4 Dec 2016) * On World AIDS Day, threat to access to medicines looms large

(MSF's Shailly

Gupta in the_ Jakarta Post_, 2 Dec 2016) * Don’t repeat the failures of the TPP in other agreements

(Dr

Patricia Ranald in the _Sydney Morning Herald_, 22 Nov 2016) * And you thought the TPP was secret. The RCEP is even worse

(_The

Age’_s Economics Editor Peter Martin in Fairfax Media, 5 Nov 2016) * Read more about The RCEP could undermine post-COVID recovery, workers' rights and environment WHAT'S REALLY IN THE RCEP? - EXPERTS DISCUSS

REGISTER HERE:

https://zoom.us/j/92599627556?pwd=VmliWERZYjVDOUlKczdKYk5iSzEyUT09 * Read more about What's really in the RCEP? - experts discuss WEALTHY COUNTRIES BLOCK COVID-19 DRUGS RIGHTS WAIVER AT WTO – BUT CLAIM TO SUPPORT UNIVERSAL ACCESS AT THE G20 _November 23, 2020_: The United States, the European Union and other mainly wealthy nations gathered in Geneva on November 21, 2020, to reiterate their opposition to a proposal to waive intellectual property rules for COVID-19 drugs, according to a Reuters report

,

despite pressure to make an exception to improve access to these drugs for poorer countries. * Read more about Wealthy countries block COVID-19 drugs rights waiver at WTO – but claim to support universal access at the G20 RCEP IMPACT ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES – REGIONAL WEBINAR _November 18, 2020_: Just a few days prior to the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), economic experts, business owners, civil society organisations and parliamentarians expressed their concerns

about its

impact on developing countries in a regional webinar. The webinar was organised by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development (APWLD), Public Services International (PSI), and Indonesia for Global Justice (IDJ). * Read more about RCEP impact on Developing Countries – regional

webinar

RCEP TEXT EXPLAINED

_November 17, 2020_: Dr Patricia Ranald's explainer article on the RCEP text has been published in _The Conversation_ here. The article notes that  RCEP rules could impede local industry development needed to recover from the COVID- 19 crisis, that it will restrict government regulation of essential services and that the RCEP has no commitment to labour rights and environmental

standards.

* Read more about RCEP text explained RCEP CRITICS SPEAK OUT _November 16, 2020_: Civil Society Organisations mobilised to speak out against the RCEP as the text was signed on November 15, 2020, during the virtual ASEAN Leaders

Summit.

The AFTINET media release is here.

Dr

Petricia Ranald's explainer article on the RCEP text is here. * Read more about RCEP Critics Speak Out RCEP TRADE DEAL COULD IMPEDE-POST COVID LOCAL INDUSTRY RECOVERY AND IGNORES LABOUR RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS _Media release  November 14, 2020: _ “The giant RCEP trade deal will be signed tomorrow by Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea and the 10 ASEAN countries (but without India) with great fanfare about its claimed economic benefits. But the deal was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic

,

and has not been revised in the light of lessons from the pandemic. Like previous trade deals the RCEP  restricts local industry policies,” AFTINET Convener Dr Patricia Ranald said today. * Read more about RCEP trade deal could impede-post COVID local industry recovery and ignores labour rights and environmental

standards

GIANT RCEP TRADE DEAL TO BE SIGNED WITHOUT INDIA, SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15, NO LABOUR RIGHTS OR ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS _November 12, 2020_: The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal between Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea and the ten ASEAN countries* will be signed online at the ASEAN Summit on Sunday, with much fanfare from governments about its size and potential economic benefits. But India left the negotiations

in

November last year, which means the agreement is worth less to Australia, since Australia already has bilateral or regional free trade agreements with all the other RCEP countries. * Read more about Giant RCEP trade deal to be signed without India, Sunday November 15, no labour rights or environmental standards UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS TELL GOVERNMENTS, WTO, IMF AND BIG PHARMA TO ENSURE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO COVID-19 VACCINES _November 11, 2020_: UN Human Rights Experts on November 9 called on the 31st Special Session of the General Assembly in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to base their response on the bedrock human-rights based principles of international solidarity, cooperation and assistance. * Read more about UN Human Rights Experts tell governments, WTO, IMF and Big Pharma to ensure universal access to COVID-19 vaccines AUSTRALIA INCREASES COVID-19 VACCINE SUPPORT TO PACIFIC ISLANDS AND SE ASIA, BUT OPPOSES TRADE RULE CHANGES ON VACCINES _November 9, 2010_: The Australian government recently announced new spending of A$500 million over three years to ensure provide COVID-19 vaccines and immunisation technical support to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Kiribati in the Pacific, and Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam in

south-east Asia.

* Read more about Australia increases COVID-19 vaccine support to Pacific Islands and SE Asia, but opposes trade rule changes on

vaccines

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