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RCEP & investment


Why RCEP is the problem, not the solution
RCEP negotiations have been highly conspiratorial and undemocratic, with all 18 rounds of trade discussions held in secret and no reports shared with the public
RCEP’s digital trade negotiations remain shrouded in secrecy
There has also been no official release of the chapters and textual proposals related to rules that are being tabled.
Stop trading workers’ rights over profits
RCEP magnifies existing inequalities and discriminates against women, indigenous peoples, people living with HIV or other illnesses, people with disabilities,rural communities, farmers and workers
Beyond investment protection: group warns of intensified corporate attacks vs people’s rights as ASEAN leaders meet in PH
The People Over Profit network together with local civil society organizations in the Philippines warn of intensifying corporate attacks on people’s rights and join calls for an independent, sovereign and peaceful Southeast Asian region.
RCEP: Corporations could sue governments
ISDS is increasingly being used by global corporations to challenge health, environment and other public interest laws.
Employment crisis and free trade agreements( FTAs) : Why workers should reject RCEP
Trade unions, farmers groups, health activists, and other people’s movements are planning to organise a series of events to put pressure on the Government of India to withdraw from RCEP negotiations.
Treating intellectual property as an investment, and subjecting it to treaty arbitration, can have undesirable impact
Free trade agreements tend to treat intellectual property as an investment made by investor corporations, allowing private investment disputes to be raised against the host country.
Stop RCEP. Trade for the People. Not for Corporate Elites
People Over Profit Statement on the 17th Round of Negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in Kobe, Japan 27 Feb-3 March 2017
RCEP investment chapter presents a grave threat to access to medicines
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) raises concerns over provisions under negotiation in the RCEP investment chapter that threaten to restrict access to affordable medicines for millions of people
RCEP, an attack on food sovereignty, must be junked – PCFS
RCEP will be harmful to developing countries’ struggle for industrialization, access to cheaper medicines, quality social services, and protection of the environment
Greater exposure
The RCEP will have the effect of locking in Vietnam - and all the other signatories - and prevent them from modifying or withdrawing investors’ rights they have granted, even if some years later they decide that granting those rights did not contribute to development in the country.
Time to terminate trade & investment agreements allowing corporations to sue government
The recent investment arbitral decision against the Philippines in favor of the Belgian corporation should be a wake up call on the dangers posed by free trade and investment agreements.
Will the RCEP morph into another TPP?
In highlighting that the drafts of many of its key chapters are substantially similar to those of the TPP, Sanya Reid Smith warns that the RCEP may end up as a replica of the former.
The hidden costs of RCEP and corporate trade deals in Asia
RCEP also includes the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS), which is facing increasing public criticism and scrutiny worldwide.
Multinationals launch 50 lawsuits worth $31b against Asian nations
A new report finds that corporations have launched 50 lawsuits, worth at least $US31 billion, using secret international arbitration tribunals against 11 countries in the Asian region.
Where is the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership headed?
The latest round of RCEP talks paints a worrisome picture for the global south, given that it will bring 3.5 billion people and 12% of world trade into its fold.
NGOs warn against dispute mechanism in Asian free-trade pact
Activists of various NGOs have urged Asean governments to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) draft.