Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET)

20/06/2026

International jurists and former Ecuadorian officials defend ISDS constitutional ban under attack despite democratic vote

  June 20, 2026: Former Ecuadorian officials, prominent international jurists, and former UN experts have warned against a planned Ecuador-United Arab Emirates  Bilateral Investment Treaty that includes the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), which allows foreign corporations to sue governme...

05/06/2026

Trump's latest proposed 12.5% tariff a cynical replacement for what the US Supreme Court struck down in February

June 5, 2026: The proposed 10- 12.5% tariff  on 60 countries including Australia announced this week by the US Trade Representative is a second attempt to replace previous 10 %tariffs on many  countries including Australia which were struck down by the US Supreme Court in February 2026. The Supre...

29/05/2026

AFTINET is calling for the removal of investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS) from the CPTPP review. ISDS lets foreign corporations sue governments for public interest laws, including climate policy. https://aftinet.org.au/AFTINET-CPTPP-submission

28/05/2026

AFTINET held a webinar on Wednesday, 27 May, discussing the aftermath of the Santa Marta First Conference on Phasing Out Fossil Fuels.

The Youtube video of the webinar can be found here.

57 governments and civil society groups met in Santa Marta to discu...

25/05/2026

The current Ebola outbreak in Africa is exposing the same structural failure of global access to medicines depending on where you live, not the urgency of need. https://aftinet.org.au/ebola-outbreak-medicine-access

19/05/2026

Ireland is facing its first ISDS case, brought by a UK-based fossil fuel company over a rejected offshore project. The claim comes amid Ireland’s efforts to phase down fossil fuel development. https://aftinet.org.au/oil-company-isds-case-ireland

15/05/2026

New Triodos Bank analysis warns that ISDS is obstructing climate policy and calls for stronger action to address its role in delaying the energy transition. https://aftinet.org.au/triodos-bank-analysis-isds-climate-policy

13/05/2026

AI regulation is increasingly being treated as a national security issue, and that could drive more ISDS claims against States. https://aftinet.org.au/tech-companies-isds-national-security-isds

06/05/2026

Chinese owner of Darwin Port suing the Australian government shows why trade deals must exclude ISDS.

Landbridge, the Chinese owner of Darwin Port, is suing the Australian government. It shows why 'free trade' deals must not include ISDS.

04/05/2026

Australia joined 56 governments in Colombia last week to map out practical steps to phase out fossil fuels, where countries openly discussed whether ISDS is blocking fossil fuel phaseout and what to do about it. https://aftinet.org.au/fossil-fuel-phaseout-conference-cite-isds