bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

RCEP & investment

The hidden costs of RCEP and corporate trade deals in Asia
16-Dec-2016 Friends of the Earth International
RCEP also includes the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS), which is facing increasing public criticism and scrutiny worldwide.
Will the RCEP morph into another TPP?
12-Jan-2017 Third World Resurgence
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.
Time to terminate trade & investment agreements allowing corporations to sue government
3-Feb-2017 Focus
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.
Greater exposure
20-Feb-2017 Vietnamnet
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.
RCEP, an attack on food sovereignty, must be junked – PCFS
2-Mar-2017 People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty
RCEP will be harmful to developing countries’ struggle for industrialization, access to cheaper medicines, quality social services, and protection of the environment
RCEP investment chapter presents a grave threat to access to medicines
3-Mar-2017 MSF
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
Stop RCEP. Trade for the People. Not for Corporate Elites
7-Mar-2017 People Over Profit
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 - draft chapter on investment: temporary safeguard measures (Dec 2016)
22-Mar-2017 KEI
As leaked by KEI
Treating intellectual property as an investment, and subjecting it to treaty arbitration, can have undesirable impact
19-Apr-2017 Economic Times
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.
Employment crisis and free trade agreements( FTAs) : Why workers should reject RCEP
27-Apr-2017 Forum against FTAs
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.
RCEP: Corporations could sue governments
3-May-2017 AFTINET
ISDS is increasingly being used by global corporations to challenge health, environment and other public interest laws.
Beyond investment protection: group warns of intensified corporate attacks vs people’s rights as ASEAN leaders meet in PH
5-May-2017 People Over Profit
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.
Stop trading workers’ rights over profits
8-May-2017 Forum on FTAs
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
RCEP’s digital trade negotiations remain shrouded in secrecy
17-May-2017 Electronic Frontier Foundation
There has also been no official release of the chapters and textual proposals related to rules that are being tabled.
Why RCEP is the problem, not the solution
18-May-2017 Inquirer.net
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
Civil society interventions on the RCEP
1-Jun-2017 Focus on the Global South
In the recent “RCEP 18th Round of Talks,” members of civil society organizations and social movements presented their positions vis-à-vis the RCEP.
Investing in alternative dispute settlement
3-Jul-2017 Madhyam
Governments at the Centre and in the States must urgently invest in building their own capacity to handle the new generation of international investment arbitration.
Foreign investment: big slogan and bigger worries
8-Jul-2017 NDTV India
What can India do at the level of trade and diplomacy to deal with RCEP
No RCEP Campaign: Stop trading away human rights
13-Jul-2017 APWLD
The ’No RCEP’ campaign urges governments to consider the adverse impact of the mega free trade agreement
FTAs loaded against Third World, says researcher
23-Jul-2017
The Andhra Pradesh government will have to pay up $ 44.71 million in damages if it loses the case in the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) for cancellation of an agreement with UAE-based company Ras Al-Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA).