The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is a new regional forum that proponents say will strengthen economic cooperation between its participants and include high labour and environmental standards; a digital trade framework; open and predictable supply-chains, investment in de-carbonisation and clean energy and transparent tax and anti-corruption standards. See the 'Four Pillars' negotiating objectives here.
So far, IPEF includes the US, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Fiji and Vietnam. Other countries may join later.
IPEF is an initiative of the US Biden administration mainly motivated by strategic competition with China in the region, and by US domestic politics. The US is not part of the two big existing regional trade agreements. These are the Regional Comprehensive economic Partnership (RCEP) of the ten ASEAN countries plus five other countries, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership of 11 Pacific Rim countries (CPTPP). The U.S. Congress does not currently have ‘fast track’ authority which enables negotiation of legally binding trade agreements, and there is still strong bipartisan opposition to legally binding agreements like the CPTPP, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2016.
Unlike traditional trade deals, IPEF may not be a legally binding, or be a mixture of legally binding agreements and aspirational statements.
AFTINET is concerned that IPEF may duplicate other agreements and forums in the region. If there are legally binding IPEF agreements in areas like digital trade, they may be modelled on existing trade agreements like the
Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the
Singapore Digital Economy Agreement that are dominated by corporate interests. Without genuine consultation with trade unions, environmentalists and other civil society organisations, IPEF will not meet its claimed goals of improving workers’ rights and environmental standards. See the AFTINET IPEF submission to DFAT
here.