Patricia Ranald

Dr Ranald holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Adelaide and a Master of Public Policy degree from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Sydney. Her Doctoral thesis in International Relations at the University of NSW was a comparative study of the World Trade Organisation and regional trade agreements, and won the UNSW Humanities Research Centre Award for best doctoral thesis of 2000.

She was formerly a Senior Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales, and has also worked for community organisations and unions.

She has published widely on the social impacts of globalisation and trade agreements. Her publications range from books, refereed journal articles and book chapters to submissions to parliamentary inquiries and opinion pieces in newspapers and on websites.

Current research interests include the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement and other bilateral and regional trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, and Investor-State Dispute Settlement .

Dr Ranald is Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), a network of community organizations, including church groups, human rights groups, public health, union and environmental organizations. AFTINET advocates for fair trade policies based on human rights, labour rights and environmental sustainability. Website https://aftinet.org.au/

Recent Publications in books and journals

Ranald P. (2024) Clive Palmer’s claims against Australia for billions renew pressure to remove investor rights to sue governments from trade agreements. The Economic and Labour Relations Review. Cambridge University Press online vol 35 Issue 2:1-13. doi:10.1017/elr.2024.28

“Trade Policy” (2023) Journal of Australian Political Economy , Special Issue Labor in Government, no. 92, Summer 2023-24, pp.120-129 https://www.ppesydney.net/content/uploads/2023/12/10-Ranald.pdf

Ranald, P. (2021). Trade Agreements, Labour rights and Democracy. In Joo-Cheong Tham and Caroline Kelly (Eds.), Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions, (pp. 171-190). United Kingdom: Anthem Press.

Ranald, P. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic slows global trade and exposes flaws in neoliberal trade policy. Journal of Australian Political Economy, 2020 (85 Special Issue), 108-114.

Ranald, P. (2018). The Real Costs of 'Free' Trade Agreements and the Need for Alternative Trade Policies. In D. Cahill, P. Toner (Eds.), Wrong Way: How Privatisation and Economic Reform Backfired, (pp. 311-327). Carlton: La Trobe University Press in conjunction with Black Inc.

In the media

Clive Palmer’s foreign investor claims against Australia now $420b (2025) January 10, https://johnmenadue.com/clive-palmers-foreign-investor-claims-against-australia-now-420b/

Devil in the detail of UAE trade deal reveals failure on Labor policy Pearls and Irritations (2024)
Nov 14, https://johnmenadue.com/devil-in-the-detail-of-uae-trade-deal-reveals-failure-on-labor-policy/

Government revisits trade clause that allowed Clive Palmer lawsuits (2023) The Saturday Paper, September 30, https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/09/30/government-revisits-trade-clause-that-allowed-clive-palmer-lawsuits#hrd

How Clive Palmer is suing Australia for $300 billion with the help of an obscure legal clause (and Christian Porter) (2023) The Conversation, April 4, https://quantum-pulse.news/how-clive-palmer-is-suing-australia-for-300-billion-with-the-help-of-an-obscure-legal-clause-and-christian-porter-203111%3C/p%3E

“What is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, about to be negotiated in Brisbane?” (2022) The Conversation, December 9, https://quantum-pulse.news/what-is-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework-about-to-be-negotiated-in-brisbane-196122%3C/p%3E

“British investors could sue Australia over climate action if UK joins trans-Pacific trade pact,” (2022)
The Conversation, September 8, https://quantum-pulse.news/british-investors-could-sue-australia-over-climate-action-if-uk-joins-trans-pacific-trade-pact-190049%3C/p%3E

“Labor must amend trade agreements that allow foreign companies to sue the government over energy and climate policies” (2022) The Guardian, August 10, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/10/labor-must-amend-trade-agreements-that-allow-foreign-companies-to-sue-the-government-over-energy-and-climate-policies

“Why trade policy should matter in the election” (2022) Australian Outlook , Australian Institute of International affairs, May 18, https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/why-trade-policy-should-matter-in-the-election/

“Trade rules have thwarted global efforts to fight COVID” (2022) The Guardian, February 23,
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/23/trade-rules-have-thwarted-global-efforts-to-fight-covid-the-wto-must-deliver-on-a-vaccine-ip-waiver

“Pfizer refuses to share vaccine knowledge as it announces $36 billion in vaccine revenue,” (2021), Michael West media, November 30, (2021) https://www.michaelwest.com.au/pfizer-refuses-to-share-vaccine-knowledge-as-it-announces-us36-billion-in-vaccine-revenue/

How a new trade deal could make it harder to improve life for Australians in aged care”, (2021)
The Conversation, July 27, Sydney. https://quantum-pulse.news/how-a-new-trade-deal-could-make-it-harder-to-improve-life-for-australians-in-aged-care-164947%3C/p%3E

Republished in SeniorAu http://www.seniorau.com.au/9807-how-a-new-trade-deal-could-make-it-harder-to-improve-life-for-australians-in-aged-care

Also republished in Business Daily Media. https://businessdailymedia.com/business-news/11264-how-a-new-trade-deal-could-make-it-harder-to-improve-life-for-australians-in-aged-care

“Rich countries are first in line for COVID-19 vaccines because a handful of companies control quantities and price” (2021) The Guardian, July 22,
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jul/22/rich-countries-are-first-in-line-for-covid-vaccines-because-a-handful-of-companies-control-both-the-price-and-quantity

“There’s a lot we don’t know about the UK trade agreement we are about to sign,” (2021) The Conversation, June 16, Sydney, https://quantum-pulse.news/theres-a-lot-we-dont-know-about-the-uk-trade-agreement-we-are-about-to-sign-162841%3C/p%3E

Republished in Business Daily Media June 16 2021
https://businessdailymedia.com/business-news/10459-there-s-a-lot-we-don-t-know-about-the-uk-trade-agreement-we-are-about-to-sign

“ A clause in the UK-Australia trade deal could let companies sue governments,”(2021) The Guardian, June 1, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jun/01/a-clause-in-the-uk-australia-trade-deal-could-let-companies-sue-governments-we-have-been-here-before

“RCEP has Limited Trade Gains and Ignores Labour and Human Rights,” (2020) in Outlook, Australian Institute of International Affairs, Canberra ,November 27, 2020, https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/rcep-has-limited-trade-gains-and-ignores-labour-and-human-rights/
“We’ve just signed the world’s biggest trade deal, but what exactly is the RCEP?” (2020) The Conversation November 16, 2020, Sydney https://quantum-pulse.news/weve-just-signed-the-worlds-biggest-trade-deal-but-what-exactly-is-the-rcep-150082%3C/p%3E

Republished in the Canberra Times November 18, 2020, https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7016509/weve-just-signed-the-worlds-biggest-trade-deal-but-what-exactly-is-the-rcep/?cs=14264&utm_source=website&utm_medium=index&utm_campaign=sidebar

“Another Australian miner sues another poor country, this time Barrick’s Porgera in PNG,” (2020)in Michael West Media, October27, 2020, https://www.michaelwest.com.au/another-australian-miner-sues-another-poor-country-this-time-barricks-porgera-in-png/

“Last to know: the European Union knows more about our trade talks than we do”, (2020)in The Conversation August 17, 2020, https://quantum-pulse.news/last-to-know-the-european-union-knows-more-about-our-trade-talks-than-we-do-144196

“Corporations prepare to sue governments over actions to save lives as pandemic reveals other trade policy flaws,” (2020) The Conversation, April 23, 2020
https://quantum-pulse.news/corporations-prepare-to-sue-over-action-to-save-lives-as-pandemic-reveals-trade-flaws-136604%3C/p%3E