Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

{{Main|Trans-Pacific Partnership|Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership}}

During the presidency of Barack Obama (with Joe Biden as vice president), the United States negotiated a trade proposal with twelve Pacific Rim countries that would become known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). In 2015, the Obama administration pitched the proposal as a means to promote American economic interests in the region in the face of a rising China.{{Cite news |last=Nakamura |first=David |date=2015-04-26 |title=Obama shifts his pitch for the Trans-Pacific Partnership |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-shifts-his-pitch-for-the-trans-pacific-partnership/2015/04/26/6e420632-ea8c-11e4-aae1-d642717d8afa_story.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Rampton |first=Roberta |date=2016-05-02 |title=Obama says Chinese-led trade deal shows need for TPP: Washington Post |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-tpp-obama-idUSKCN0XT1WZ |access-date=2023-05-03}}

Following his election in 2016 and subsequent inauguration, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order pulling the United States out of the TPP, which had not been ratified by Congress.{{cite news |title=Trump executive order pulls out of TPP trade deal |work=BBC News |date=23 January 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38721056 |access-date=23 January 2017 |quote=Mr Trump's executive order on TPP is seen as mainly symbolic since the deal was never ratified by a divided US Congress.}} In 2018, the eleven remaining countries in the TPP went on to sign a revised version of the agreement, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.{{Cite news |last=Ming |first=Cheang |date=9 March 2018 |title=Global trade just had a 'one step forward, one step back' day |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/09/tpp-11-countries-sign-trade-agreement-as-trump-implements-tariffs.html |access-date=10 March 2018}}

Prior to the launch of the IPEF, critics argued that the U.S. was engaged in an “all guns and no butter” strategy, in which defense was emphasized over regional economic policy.

Commentators have described the IPEF as being part of the Biden administration's efforts to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Kevin |date=2022-05-23 |title=Biden unveils his economic plan for countering China in Asia |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/politics/joe-biden-japan-monday/index.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Swanson |first=Ana |date=2022-09-09 |title=Biden Administration Outlines Scope of Asian Economic Pact |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/business/ipef-framework-asia-trade.html |access-date=2023-05-03 |issn=0362-4331}} According to the Financial Times, countries in the region urged the Biden administration to develop an international economic policy framework to combat China's influence.

Analysts have compared it to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the United States withdrew from in 2017.{{Citation |title=In Tokyo, Biden set to launch new Indo-Pacific trade pact to replace TPP |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bidens-indo-pacific-trade-pact-wont-include-taiwan-at-launch-01653261066 |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524024947/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bidens-indo-pacific-trade-pact-wont-include-taiwan-at-launch-01653261066 |url-status=live |publisher=Marketwatch |archive-date=2022-05-24}} The Biden administration stated that it has no intention to join TPP's successor, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.{{Cite book |last=Ma |first=Xinru |title=Beyond Power Transitions: The Lessons of East Asian History and the Future of U.S.-China Relations |last2=Kang |first2=David C. |date=2024 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-55597-5 |series=Columbia Studies in International Order and Politics |location=New York}}{{Rp|page=178}} The IPEF is intended to be a precursor for later negotiations, as it does not include a uniform lowering of tariffs.{{Citation |last1=Sevastopulo |first1=Demetri |title=Joe Biden waters down Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to win more support |date=20 May 2022 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/91207c37-c9bd-4737-abf5-afc71200f8a1 |newspaper=Financial Times |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524024947/https://www.ft.com/content/91207c37-c9bd-4737-abf5-afc71200f8a1 |url-status=live |archive-date=2022-05-24 |last2=Inagaki |first2=Kana |url-access=subscription}}

On 22 May 2022, the Biden administration issued a 12-paragraph IPEF.{{Rp|page=178}} Biden described the initiative as "writing the new rules for the 21st century economy", stating that the agreement would make the participant's economies "grow faster and fairer". Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo argued that the framework constituted "the most significant international economic engagement that the United States has ever had in this region".{{Cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Peter |last2=Kanno-Youngs |first2=Zolan |date=2022-05-23 |title=Biden to Begin New Asia-Pacific Economic Bloc With a Dozen Allies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/world/asia/biden-asian-pacific-bloc.html |access-date=2023-07-23 |issn=0362-4331}}

The pact has been described as being "hollow", "meaningless" or "useless" by some commentators, including US industry groups, due to its lack of tangible policy actions such as lowering tariffs.{{Cite news |last=Swanson |first=Ana |date=2023-05-27 |title=Biden Administration Announces Indo-Pacific Deal, Clashing With Industry Groups |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/27/business/economy/biden-indo-pacific-trade-deal.html |access-date=2023-06-15 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Bhadrakumar |first=M. K. |date=2022-05-25 |title=IPEF will be a hard sell in the Indo-Pacific |url=https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/ipef-will-be-a-hard-sell-in-the-indo-pacific/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |title=What is the point of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework? |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/06/09/what-is-the-point-of-the-indo-pacific-economic-framework |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-06-15 |issn=0013-0613}} Writing in 2022, academics Xinru Ma and David C. Kang described IPEF as lacking concrete proposals.{{Rp|page=178}}

The Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience was signed in November 2023, and entered into force in February 2024.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-16 |title=Leaders' Statement on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity |work=The White House |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/16/leaders-statement-on-indo-pacific-economic-framework-for-prosperity/ |access-date=2023-11-16}} The agreement establishes the Supply Chain Council, the Crisis Response Network and the Labor Rights Advisory Board to address supply chain resilience.{{Cite web |title=Pillar II – Supply Chains |url=https://www.commerce.gov/ipef/pillar-ii |access-date=2024-06-09 |work=U.S. Department of Commerce}}

The Clean Economy Agreement was signed in June 2024, and entered into force on October 11, 2024. The agreement includes measures on developing and deploying clean energy and climate-friendly technologies, facilitating investment towards climate-related projects in the region, connecting markets through policies and standards, and promoting low-and zero-emission goods and services.

The Fair Economy Agreement was signed in June 2024, and entered into force on October 12, 2024. The agreement aims to prevent and combat corruption and to improve tax transparency and the exchange of information, domestic resource mobilization, and tax administration.

In November 2023, the United States halted plans for the IPEF's trade component.{{Cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Alex |last2=Sevastopulo |first2=Demetri |date=2023-11-15 |title=Joe Biden halts plan for Indo-Pacific trade deal after opposition from Democrats |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d124ee69-dc6e-4a84-b18a-26a39235ab11 |access-date=2023-11-15}} The Biden administration had intended to conclude the negotiations during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, but reversed course following opposition from Democratic members of Congress including Sherrod Brown.

File:20220523 Fumio Kishida and Joe Biden 25.jpg

The IPEF has fourteen participating member states, representing around 40% of the world's GDP.{{Cite web |last=Tan |first=Su-Lin |date=2022-05-25 |title=The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework: What it is — and why it matters |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/26/ipef-what-is-the-indo-pacific-framework-whos-in-it-why-it-matters.html |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=CNBC |language=en}} Seven members of the IPEF are ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states.{{Cite web |last=Bowie |first=Nile |date=2022-05-30 |title=Why ASEAN is giving Biden's IPEF a chance |url=https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/why-asean-is-giving-bidens-ipef-a-chance/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}

The 14th and most recent entry into the IPEF was Fiji, which was welcomed into the framework on May 27, 2023, as the first Pacific Island nation to join.{{Cite news |last= |date=2022-05-27 |title=White House welcomes Fiji to its Indo-Pacific economic plan |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/white-house-welcomes-fiji-its-indo-pacific-economic-plan-2022-05-27/ |access-date=2023-05-03}} Including the United States, the following member countries joined in the framework:

Member countries with the four largest GDPs:

• {{IND}} (partly opted out on the trade pillar{{Cite web |last=Sinha |first=Saurabh |date=2022-09-10 |title=India stays out of Indo-Pacific trade pillar |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/why-india-opted-out-of-joining-trade-pillar-of-ipef-for-now/articleshow/94106662.cms#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%3A%20India%20has%20chosen%20to%20opt%20out,the%20same%20to%20issues%20like%20environment%20and%20labour. |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=The Times of India}})
• {{JAP}}
• {{KOR}}
• {{USA}}

Countries in Oceania:

• {{AUS}}
• {{FIJ}}
• {{NZL}}

ASEAN member states:

• {{Flag|Brunei}}
• {{INA}}
• {{MAS}}
• {{PHI}}
• {{SIN}}
• {{THA}}
• {{VIE}}

The following non-participating nations were subject to media attention surrounding their potential involvement in the IPEF:

• {{CAN}}: Canada was not among the nations included in the framework at the time of its launch.{{Cite news |last=Ibbitson |first=John |date=2022-05-26 |title=Canada inexcusably absent from another Indo-Pacific initiative |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-inexcusably-absent-from-another-indo-pacific-initiative/ |access-date=2023-05-03}} Since then, the country has sought admission into the IPEF, with trade minister Mary Ng claiming in December 2022 that the country's bid has the support of all constituent members.{{Cite web |last=Oshikiri |first=Tomoyoshi |date=2022-12-06 |title=Canada's IPEF bid has support from all members: trade minister |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Canada-s-IPEF-bid-has-support-from-all-members-trade-minister |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB}}
• {{TWN}}: Taiwan (ROC) was not invited to join the IPEF.{{Cite news |last1=Lawder |first1=David |last2=Martina |first2=Michael |date=2022-06-01 |title=U.S., Taiwan to launch trade talks after island excluded from Indo-Pacific group |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/us-taiwan-launch-trade-talks-after-biden-excludes-island-indo-pacific-group-2022-06-01/ |access-date=2023-05-02}}
• {{UK}}: In August 2023, the British Foreign Affairs Committee urged the UK Government to assess membership of the IPEF, as part of the UK's 'Indo-Pacific tilt'.{{Cite news|title=Tilting horizons: the Integrated Review and the Indo-Pacific|language=en|work=UK Government|date= 30 August 2023|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmfaff/172/report.html}}{{Cite news|title=Parliament panel: Government should assess whether IPEF is right for the UK|language=en|website=InsideTrade|date= 31 August 2023|url=https://insidetrade.com/daily-news/parliament-panel-government-should-assess-whether-ipef-right-uk}}

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized the initiative as an attempt to further economic decoupling from China. Wang Yi argued that the initiative, and the US Indo-Pacific strategy as a whole, created divisions and "incited confrontation". Wang stated that such an agreement would "ultimately be a failure".{{Citation |title=China says Washington's 'divisive' Indo-Pacific strategy doomed to fail |date=23 May 2022 |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178764/china-says-washingtons-divisive-indo-pacific-strategy-doomed |publisher=South China Morning Post |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524024947/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3178764/china-says-washingtons-divisive-indo-pacific-strategy-doomed |url-status=live }}

Many analysts have criticized the lack of inclusion of Taiwan in the framework, with Taiwan News calling the lack of inclusion a "snub".{{Citation |title=US snubs Taiwan from Indo-Pacific Economic Framework |date=23 May 2022 |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4547303 |publication-place=Taiwan News |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524024947/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4547303 |url-status=live }} An opinion piece published in The Hill asserted that Taiwan was excluded in order to appease key "fence-sitter" countries such as Indonesia whose governments feared angering China.{{cite news |last1=Tong |first1=Kurt |title=Congress should get creative on Taiwan |url=https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3484872-congress-should-get-creative-on-taiwan/?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220523&instance_id=62135&nl=the-morning®i_id=170482098&segment_id=93088&te=1&user_id=a53cca97bfcaace2ac0045d34f39289a |access-date=25 May 2022 |work=The Hill |date=11 May 2022 |archive-date=25 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525071521/https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3484872-congress-should-get-creative-on-taiwan/?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20220523&instance_id=62135&nl=the-morning®i_id=170482098&segment_id=93088&te=1&user_id=a53cca97bfcaace2ac0045d34f39289a |url-status=live }}File:20220523 Fumio Kishida and Joe Biden 24.jpg]]Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad criticized the grouping as an initiative intended to isolate China, saying "many countries recognize that this is not an economic grouping but it is truly a political grouping."{{Cite news |last=Yamaguchi |first=Mari |date=27 May 2022 |title=Ex-Malaysia PM: US-led trade group intended to isolate China |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-japan-united-states-asia-0535517f60722276423788ba26f585e7 |access-date=28 May 2022 |archive-date=28 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528135428/https://apnews.com/article/biden-japan-united-states-asia-0535517f60722276423788ba26f585e7 |url-status=live }}

Initially, India did not outline a definitive position towards the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.{{cite web |date=2022-09-10 |title=India accepts three out of four pillars of US-led IPEF, so why has it stopped short of a total agreement? |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/us-ipef-india-accepts-three-pillars-stopped-short-total-agreement-8142554/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=Indian Express}} Prabir De of the Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank associated with the Ministry of External Affairs, wrote that India may be uncomfortable with the high economic standards envisaged by the US. He also noted that the IPEF position on digital governance contained issues that directly conflict with India's stated positions.

In September 2022, Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal said at a press conference in the United States that India had agreed to three pillars relating to supply chains: tax, anti-corruption and clean energy, but that the fourth pillar on trade, involving labour, environment, digital data and public procurement, had not been agreed yet. The US expressed concerns about potential Indian demands for data localisation to ensure that data about Indian users is held and processed only in India and not in the US.

A particular aspect of the framework caters also to Indian protectionists. The framework does not allow access to the U.S. market and does not mandate tariff liberalization. Instead, it emphasizes supply chain resilience and provides room to negotiate regulations related to India's highly controversial policies such as data localization.{{Cite web |last=Ramesh |first=Akhil |date=2022-06-17 |title=Why US' Indo-Pacific economic initiative is really all about India |url=https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181753/why-us-indo-pacific-economic-framework-really-all-about-india |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

In March 2022, a bipartisan coalition of over 200 members of the United States Congress wrote a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Trade Representative Katherine Tai urging the inclusion of Taiwan in the IPEF.{{Cite news |last1=Martina |first1=Michael |last2=Lawder |first2=David |date=2022-03-31 |title=U.S. trade chief Tai declines to say if Taiwan will be part of Indo-Pacific pact |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/hundreds-us-congress-urge-raimondo-tai-include-taiwan-indo-pacific-pact-2022-03-31/ |access-date=2023-05-02}} Following the IPEF's formation, groups including Public Citizen urged trade officials to be transparent during negotiations, including through the publication of draft text proposals.{{Cite web |last=Overly |first=Steven |date=2022-10-03 |title=IPEF confidentiality rules revealed |url=https://www.politico.com/newsletters/weekly-trade/2022/10/03/ipef-confidentiality-rules-revealed-00059967 |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}

In a 2022 hearing, two Democratic members of the U.S. Senate expressed concerns that the IPEF was insufficiently ambitious in scope. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who chaired the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, stated that he did not believe the framework was “as robust as I think we need" and questioned the absence of Taiwan in the framework. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) expressed concern that IPEF does not include a mechanism to allow U.S. agriculture producers the opportunity to export to new markets.{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Eric |date=2022-03-31 |title=Biden Trade Plans Criticized by Senators as Lacking Ambition |language=en |work=Bloomberg |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/biden-trade-agenda-criticized-by-senators-for-lack-of-ambition |access-date=2023-05-02}}

{{Main|Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership}}

The combined population and gross domestic product of IPEF member states exceeds that of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a 2020 regional trade deal that includes China.{{Citation |title=U.S.-led IPEF outweighs China-involving RCEP in population, GDP |date=23 May 2022 |url=https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220523009500320 |publisher=Yonhap News Agency |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524083158/https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20220523009500320 |url-status=live }} The only RCEP members not also included in the IPEF are China, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos; while non-RCEP members are the United States, India, and Fiji.

• Bangladesh and the Indo-Pacific Strategy
• Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
• Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
• China–United States trade war
• Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)
• Indo-Pacific
• Trade policy of the Joe Biden administration

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.commerce.gov/ipef Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, U.S. Department of Commerce]

Category:International economic organizations

Category:2022 establishments in the United States

Category:Organizations established in 2022