There have long been significant concerns about how international trade agreements affect Indigenous rights, particularly in respect of Indigenous Intellectual Property. As highlighted in our recent handbook on Indigenous Intellectual Property, there has been an ongoing conversation about the relationship between Indigenous communities, intellectual property, and trade. Such discussions have traditionally taken place in multilateral fora like the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, international climate talks, and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples. Of late, the debate has also arisen in the context of bilateral trade agreements such as the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement 1994, and mega-regional trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership 2015. Matthew Rimmer goes on to discuss.

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