Choice calls for independent assessment of TPP

BTN News
Thursday, 05 November 2015

Consumer advocacy group Choice has called for an independent assessment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

 

Choice’s campaigns manager Erin Turner said: “Now the Trans-Pacific Partnership has finally seen the light of day, it deserves expert, transparent analysis so we can understand all of the implications for Australia.
“The TPP will impact nearly every part of the Australian economy – it covers financial services, food, medicines and how our public services operate. It is too big and too important to simply wave through without an assessment of what we’re trading away.
“Choice urges the government to commit to a full cost/benefit analysis by the Productivity Commission of the TPP before Australia signs on to the complex new rules in this hefty document, governing everything from financial regulations to copyright provisions,” said Turner.
Choice said that all the Australian government technically needs to do to pass the TPP is table it in the Parliament for at least 15 sitting days and conduct an assessment by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
“Now that the text has been released, we know that the TPP contains a controversial investor-state dispute settlement clause, a mechanism that allows companies to sue governments,” said Turner.
“A similar clause in a separate agreement has been used by Philip Morris to sue the Australian government, in an objection to our tobacco plain packaging laws. The TPP includes a carve-out that aims to prevent similar, tobacco-related actions from taking place, but we don’t know what other public health and consumer protection policies could be at risk under Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) rules.
“We also don’t know yet whether the potential overall benefits of the TPP outweigh the risks posed by ISDS and other elements of the agreement.
“With the agreement likely to be assessed by Committee in the coming weeks, wading through its 599 pages of legal wording to find out exactly what is being traded away will be a crucial task that should be done expertly and transparently.”

Choice calls for independent assessment of TPP

BTN News
Thursday, 05 November 2015

Consumer advocacy group Choice has called for an independent assessment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

 

Choice’s campaigns manager Erin Turner said: “Now the Trans-Pacific Partnership has finally seen the light of day, it deserves expert, transparent analysis so we can understand all of the implications for Australia.
“The TPP will impact nearly every part of the Australian economy – it covers financial services, food, medicines and how our public services operate. It is too big and too important to simply wave through without an assessment of what we’re trading away.
“Choice urges the government to commit to a full cost/benefit analysis by the Productivity Commission of the TPP before Australia signs on to the complex new rules in this hefty document, governing everything from financial regulations to copyright provisions,” said Turner.
Choice said that all the Australian government technically needs to do to pass the TPP is table it in the Parliament for at least 15 sitting days and conduct an assessment by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
“Now that the text has been released, we know that the TPP contains a controversial investor-state dispute settlement clause, a mechanism that allows companies to sue governments,” said Turner.
“A similar clause in a separate agreement has been used by Philip Morris to sue the Australian government, in an objection to our tobacco plain packaging laws. The TPP includes a carve-out that aims to prevent similar, tobacco-related actions from taking place, but we don’t know what other public health and consumer protection policies could be at risk under Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) rules.
“We also don’t know yet whether the potential overall benefits of the TPP outweigh the risks posed by ISDS and other elements of the agreement.
“With the agreement likely to be assessed by Committee in the coming weeks, wading through its 599 pages of legal wording to find out exactly what is being traded away will be a crucial task that should be done expertly and transparently.”