US Trade justice campaigners press IPEF talks on labour rights, environment, digital

May 23, 2023: A coalition of US trade justice organisations rallied in Detroit on May 20 during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) talks there, to highlight the Ministerial Meeting for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) set for May 27. They posed the rights of workers and the planet against corporate priority for profits in IPEF.

The morning was dedicated to workshops on trade agreements and the fight for global justice, APEC and Southeast Asia, what Big Tech wants the world to look like, the struggle for human rights in the Philippines, food justice, and trade deals and global climate justice. The afternoon was a march for jobs and justice through downtown Detroit to the APEC Ministerial at Hart Plaza.

This program was organised by Public Citizen, Sierra Club, Michigan Climate Action Network, the International League of Peoples Struggles, Progressive Democrats of America, BAYAN USA, Trade Justice and DISTILL. A bigger protest is planned for the IPEF Leaders Meeting expected during the APEC Leaders Meeting in November in San Francisco.

Outside a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), local labor leaders, environmental advocates, and economic justice activists call for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to include strong, enforceable labor and environmental standards and no special privileges for Big Tech. on Saturday May 20 in Detroit. Image: Rick Osentoski AP images for Public Citizen.