Asia Pacific civil society groups condemn investor rights

Asia Pacific civil society groups condemn investor rights to sue governments in RCEP as Trade Ministers meet

An unprecedented alliance of civil society groups from Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN countries, India, Japan and South Korea, today issued a call to Trade Ministers meeting in Laos to discuss the mega trade agreement involving 16 countries, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

They urged RCEP ministers not to give special rights to foreign investors to bypass national courts and sue governments for millions of dollars in unfair international tribunals, known as ISDS, modelled on similar clauses in the TPP. Their statement signed by 95 organisations from RCEP countries is attached below.

RCEP negotiations between Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Korea, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam have been conducted in secret since 2012, and are expected to finish in 2017.

“Foreign investors have launched ISDS cases claiming millions of dollars in compensation for Australia’s tobacco plain packaging law, for Canadian environmental regulation of mining, for a Canadian court decision on medicine patents, and even for a rise in the minimum wage in Egypt. Governments should have the right to regulate in the public interest without being sued by global corporations. ISDS undermines democracy and sovereignty,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today.

“ISDS has been a major driver of community opposition to the TPP between the US, Australia and 10 Pacific rim countries, and will generate the same strong opposition to the RCEP. Community opposition to the TPP in the US is so strong that the TPP implementing legislation is not likely to be passed by the U.S. Congress,” said Dr Ranald

“Two of the largest RCEP countries, India and Indonesia, are actually withdrawing from bilateral investment treaties which contain ISDS, because of ISDS claims of hundreds of millions of dollars against them. We urge the Australian government and other TPP countries like Japan and Korea not to pursue the failed TPP ISDS model in the RCEP,” said Dr Ranald.

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