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RCEP & investment


Asia’s evolving ‘free’ trade deal may not benefit workers
Labor unions and workers’ rights advocates fear that the secretive RCEP agreement will further erode workers’ rights in the Asian region, while strengthening the hands of investors who may be able to sue governments for changing laws such as setting minimum wages, that would erode their profitability.
RCEP agreement puts future of Thai people at risk
The Thai government is about to enter a trade deal that could seriously harm the reform agenda and deprive communities of the ability to make decisions for fear of violating investors’ rights.
Investor vs state interests debate heats up
Ahead of the 23rd round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership there has been growing concern over its investment chapters that will let foreign investors’ benefits overrride public interests.
Why we must ban secret corporate courts from trade deals
The ISDS system impedes on national sovereignty to the benefit of corporations, yet places no obligations on investors to behave responsibly, creating an asymmetric system that gives multinationals the same rights as sovereign states.
RCEP talks in Indonesia focus on concessions, crafting of sensitive list
As the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) made significant headway in January, negotiating countries in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are pressured to conclude the trade deal, and they try to make progress in the ongoing talks in Indonesia.
Free trade or women’s rights?
After 30 years of neoliberal globalization, it has been increasingly acknowledged that austerity, privatization, deregulation of finance, markets and corporations, and trade and investment liberalization have had a devastating and discriminatory impact on women.
ASEAN economic integration by whom? for whom?
ASEAN member states must end policies, laws and institutional practices, including free trade and investment agreements that violate the people’s rights.
5 hidden costs of the RCEP to people and planet
The RCEP has hidden costs for people’s lives
RCEP: Robbing communities to extract profit
RCEP will give multinational corporations unprecedented rights
CSOs challenge PH trade negotiators: Take Philippines out of RCEP!
Philippine civil society groups and social movements stand together to oppose RCEP
Duterte’s RCEP push at ASEAN, implications on Philippines economy & development
The more far-reaching implication of RCEP is for Philippines’s sovereignty in regulating foreign investments
Tell us who gains from RCEP: People’s Forum demands as RCEP talks end
“Tell us at least now who gains from RCEP,” People’s Forum challenges the Indian government as the 19th round of RCEP negotiations comes to an end
Why RCEP is more dangerous than bilateral investment treaties
Crucial to RCEP’s investment protection chapter is the highly controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism, a system of privatised justice characterised by international arbitration tribunals outside of the reach of domestic legal systems, explains Cecilia Olivet of TNI
ASEAN Parliamentarians call for a focus on rights in regional trade talks
Officials from ASEAN member states and other countries meeting in India this week for negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) should take steps to ensure that the trade deal safeguards human rights, Southeast Asian lawmakers said today.
FTAs loaded against Third World, says researcher
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).
No RCEP Campaign: Stop trading away human rights
The ’No RCEP’ campaign urges governments to consider the adverse impact of the mega free trade agreement
Foreign investment: big slogan and bigger worries
What can India do at the level of trade and diplomacy to deal with RCEP
Investing in alternative dispute settlement
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.
Civil society interventions on the RCEP
In the recent “RCEP 18th Round of Talks,” members of civil society organizations and social movements presented their positions vis-à-vis the RCEP.