The Labour Government faces a renewed test of its convictions as the United Kingdom negotiated to join the controversial Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), alongside their negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement”, says Professor Jane Kelsey, a long-term critic of the CPTPP and its precursor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).
“Labour sold out on most of its original objections to the original TPPA, when it opposed its ratification, only to later endorse the CPTPP”, recalled Professor Kelsey. “But it has maintained a red-line against Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)”.
Under ISDS, foreign investors can sue the government directly in pro-investor private offshore tribunals for massive compensation when they claim new laws, policies or decisions have adversely affected their current and future profits. Recent controversial disputes have targeted moves to address climate change, regulating Big Tech, and even Covid 19 measures. Read More.
