This is from economics reporter Peter Martin:
And now Australia has said no to an ISDS in its free trade agreement with Japan. The agreement will be better and simpler because of it.
Some details of the agreement are here, but the full text is not out yet.
Australia is famous for its ISDS skepticism, although they have recently changed course, and included ISDS in the FTA with Korea. What is the significance of excluding it from the agreement with Japan? Shawn Donnan of the FT tweeted this to me: "It may be less of a big deal than I first thought. Both are in TPP and ISDS inclusion there would make bilateral ISDS redundant."
But what if there is no TPP? I know, we are in the "end game," but it doesn't feel like we are really that close to the end. If the TPP fails, would Australia and Japan revisit the issue, or just leave ISDS out permanently?
