US unveils Asia-Pacific trade framework
Published: 04:05 PM,May 23,2022 | EDITED : 08:05 PM,May 23,2022
TOKYO: US President Joe Biden launched a new Asia-Pacific trade initiative on Monday in Tokyo, with 13 countries including India and Japan signed up, although questions about the pact's effectiveness remain.
Biden formally unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, on his second day in Japan, where he held talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of a regional Quad summit on Tuesday.
'I believe we'll win the competition of the 21st century together'', he said at the launch, attended in person by Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and virtually by representatives from the other countries.
Unlike traditional trade blocs, there is no plan for IPEF members to negotiate tariffs and ease market access — a tool that has become increasingly unpalatable to US voters fearful of seeing homegrown manufacturing undermined.
Instead, the programme foresees integrating partners through agreed standards in four main areas: The digital economy, supply chains, clean energy infrastructure and anti-corruption measures.
The starting list of members in addition to the US is Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The countries touted IPEF as a framework for what will ultimately become a tight-knit group of trading nations.
'We share a commitment to a free, open, fair, inclusive, interconnected, resilient, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'', they said in a joint statement. 'Deepening economic engagement among partners is crucial for continued growth, peace, and prosperity.'
Together, the participants account for about 40 per cent of global GDP and 'there are other countries that could conceivably join us'', Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters.
Biden has pushed to rapidly rebuild strategic military and trade alliances weakened under his predecessor Donald Trump since taking office in 2021.
IPEF is intended to offer US allies an alternative to China's growing commercial presence across the Asia-Pacific.
However, there is no political will in Washington for returning to a tariffs-based Asia trade deal following Trump's 2017 withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a huge trading bloc that was revived under a new name in 2018, without US membership.
While the TPP reduces trade barriers for members, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo emphasised to reporters that IPEF was not designed to go down the same route. The 'framework is intentionally designed not to be a same old, same old traditional trade agreement'', she said. — AFP
Biden formally unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, on his second day in Japan, where he held talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of a regional Quad summit on Tuesday.
'I believe we'll win the competition of the 21st century together'', he said at the launch, attended in person by Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and virtually by representatives from the other countries.
Unlike traditional trade blocs, there is no plan for IPEF members to negotiate tariffs and ease market access — a tool that has become increasingly unpalatable to US voters fearful of seeing homegrown manufacturing undermined.
Instead, the programme foresees integrating partners through agreed standards in four main areas: The digital economy, supply chains, clean energy infrastructure and anti-corruption measures.
The starting list of members in addition to the US is Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The countries touted IPEF as a framework for what will ultimately become a tight-knit group of trading nations.
'We share a commitment to a free, open, fair, inclusive, interconnected, resilient, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region'', they said in a joint statement. 'Deepening economic engagement among partners is crucial for continued growth, peace, and prosperity.'
Together, the participants account for about 40 per cent of global GDP and 'there are other countries that could conceivably join us'', Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters.
Biden has pushed to rapidly rebuild strategic military and trade alliances weakened under his predecessor Donald Trump since taking office in 2021.
IPEF is intended to offer US allies an alternative to China's growing commercial presence across the Asia-Pacific.
However, there is no political will in Washington for returning to a tariffs-based Asia trade deal following Trump's 2017 withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a huge trading bloc that was revived under a new name in 2018, without US membership.
While the TPP reduces trade barriers for members, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo emphasised to reporters that IPEF was not designed to go down the same route. The 'framework is intentionally designed not to be a same old, same old traditional trade agreement'', she said. — AFP