http://aftinet.org.au/ Items in this Bulletin include -
The TPP negotiations between Australia, the US, Japan and nine other
Pacific Rim countries missed another deadline in November and are now expected
to continue into 2015. The strong
campaign in the US has prevented the US Congress from granting
“fast track” by giving up its rights to approve the text and only being able to
vote yes or no. The Republican victory in the November elections does not mean
that fast-track will be passed, as many Republicans
as well as Democrats will oppose it.
We know from leaked documents and industry reports that pharmaceutical
companies want increased delays before we can access cheaper generic medicines,
media companies want longer copyright payments and restrictions on the Internet
and tobacco companies want to prevent stronger public health labelling. They
all want the right to sue governments over changes to domestic legislation
known as Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). These cases are growing in
number, and include the French company Veolia suing the Egyptian Government
over a rise in the
minimum wage. These proposals are not about free trade but about
increased monopoly rights which undermine
democracy and could prevent future governments from regulating
to protect public health, the environment and workers’ rights.
With your support this year we have spoken at over 50 public meetings and
rallies, given it over 100 media interviews and sent thousands of social media
messages. Our campaigning has made a difference. The TPP negotiations have
missed several deadlines and entered their fifth year because social movements
in Australia and other TPP countries, including the US have pressured
governments to resist these proposals. We held protests at
the TPP negotiations and Ministers’ meetings in Canberra and Sydney in October,
which received widespread media
coverage and participated in an International Day of Action in
November. We also spoke at a seminar and carried our stop TPP banner at the G20 meeting in
Brisbane on November 13-15. We need your support to continue the campaign in
2015.
The Australian and Chinese governments started
negotiating a free trade agreement in 2005. On November 17, 2014.they announced they
had reached agreement in principle on key issues and would finalise and
sign the text early in 2015. The text will remain secret until after
Cabinet approves it for signing, and cannot be changed by Parliament,
which will only vote on the implementing legislation. There has been much
positive publicity about access to Chinese markets for Australian agriculture
and services, but not about the negatives.
The government's summary shows that it
has allowed more temporary labour for projects worth more than $150 million and
has agreed to ISDS. Union and industry groups are
concerned about the impact of the agreement on local
employment. AFTINET also
opposes allowing Chinese companies to sue our governments over domestic
legislation. We want the full text of the agreement to be released before it is
signed so there can be public and parliamentary debate about these
issues.
This year we have campaigned strongly against ISDS in the TPP, the Korea
FTA and the China FTA. Our campaigning helped send thousands of message to the
Trade Minister and to establish two Senate inquiries which focussed on ISDS,
one on a Greens Bill to ban ISDS in all trade agreements, and one initiated by
the ALP on the Korea FTA. These inquiries have educated politicians and held
them accountable. Over 11.000 people wrote letters and submissions. There were
articles in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Drum and an excellent ABC Radio National Background Briefing program
Pacer–Plus negotiations slowed as Fiji re-joins and civil
society calls for suspension of talks PACER-Plus
negotiations between Australia, New Zealand and 14 Pacific Island Countries
were held from December 8-12 in Fiji. The rent elections in Fiji mean that Fiji
is now taking an active role in the negotiations, rather than being an
observer. The Fiji government has indicated it may not accept what has been
negotiated so far, which may slow the negotiations. AFTINET believes that
Pacific Island countries have little to gain and much to lose from a free trade
agreement. The main sticking points remain labour mobility and development
assistance from the Australia and NZ side, while Pacific Island sensitivities
include reducing tariffs and trade rules on investment and services, especially
where these may affect employment and customary land ownership. China and India
are also becoming more active in PI and visited after the G20.
A letter signed by civil society groups calling
for suspension of talks was sent to governments. PANG has also produced a
leaflet on how trade agreements could undermine custom land tenure. It now
appears that negotiations will continue through 2015 with the aim of completion
in 2016.
Senate Inquiry into Trade Agreement Process: submissions due
February 27 2015 AFTINET has long campaigned for changes
to Australia’s Trade Agreement Process for
greater transparency and democratic accountability. Currently the
negotiating texts are secret, and Cabinet authorises the signing of the final
text before it becomes public. This is reviewed by a parliamentary committee
which cannot change the text. Parliament only votes on the implementing
legislation. We want much better pubic consultation before and during
negotiations, public release of draft texts and the release of the final text
for public and parliamentary debate before the decision is made to sign them.
Our campaigning has now produced some results, with the ALP and Greens
referring the Commonwealth’s treaty processes to a Senate Inquiry. The closing
date for submissions is 27 February 2015 and the committee will report by 18
June 2015.
The terms of reference are broad enough to
enable us to raise our issues of concern. It is important that the committee
receive as many submissions is possible to ensure that it holds public hearings
and maximises the public debate. AFTINET will prepare some points for use in
submissions.Submissions should be sent to Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Committee fadt.sen@aph.gov.au
Australia to join the WTO voluntary Government Procurement
Agreement: submissions due January 30, 2015 The Australian
government announced in November that it would begin the process to join the
World Trade Organisation voluntary Government Procurement Agreement or GPA. This
agreement has been in place since 1994, but only 48 of 160 WTO members have
joined it. The agreement commits governments to treat international companies
as if they were local companies in government procurement processes and to have
no preference for local content. Most governments want to retain the
flexibility to have rules for local content in government procurement, as part
of the encouragement of local industry development.
The government is saying that now is the time for Australia to join
because China is in the process of joining, and this would give Australian
companies access to the Chinese government procurement market. This may be a
forlorn hope, given the experience of the US Australia free trade agreement procurement
chapter. Australia committed to open up all Federal and State government
procurement, with some specific exceptions, especially at the State government
level. The US had many more exceptions at Federal government level and only 33
of 50 states are part of the agreement. Australian companies have found it
extremely difficult to actually gain contracts in the US.We are concerned that the negotiations with the 48 other countries,
including the US and the EU, will result in pressure to weaken current
exemptions in Australia’s bilateral trade agreements, including exemptions for
indigenous services, small and medium sized enterprises, defence, audio-visual
services and other specific services and industries. AFTINET will be making a
submission to express our concerns.
