Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)
Context:
- The United States is coming up with a new initiative termed as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) which has been presented at a virtual meet in Tokyo.
What are the areas of interest?
- Trade
- Supply chain resiliency
- Clean energy and decarbonisation
- Taxes and anti-corruption measures
About:
- This initiative mainly comprises of all the Quad countries and also seven out of ten ASEAN countries and New Zealand.
- The grouping has gained significance as the countries put together put upto 40 percent of the global GDP.
- India has signaled that it is willing to work with the grouping which will be a significant forum in the region.
What is the nature of the initiative?
- The administrators from the United States have confirmed that Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity would not be a free trade agreement.
- And also there is nothing about reducing the tariffs or increasing/decreasing the market access.
- So, it is projected that Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity would not be a counter initiative to the RCEP.
- This will be challenging for India as three years back it had walked out of the RCEP.
- This initiative is looked as a tussle between USA and China as Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos the countries which are close to China have stayed out of this US led initiative.
Way Forward:
- Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity is viewed as an initiative to boost the manufacturing sector of the United States.
- India along with other South East Asian nations can engage with the grouping to enhance its trade.
Source The Hindu
