WASHINGTON, USA – US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the substantial conclusion of negotiations of the Clean Economy Agreement and the Fair Economy Agreement of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), following the IPEF ministerial meeting in San Francisco, California. IPEF ministers also signed the Pillar II Supply Chain Agreement, which was substantially concluded earlier this year.
Launched in May 2022 in Tokyo by president Biden, IPEF is an innovative initiative among like-minded partners focused on results-oriented economic engagement to address specific challenges affecting their economies.
IPEF will help the United States and its partners shape the future of economic cooperation and trade in a region that is home to 40 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and a key source of inputs for American manufacturers – as well as a key export market for American-made goods. The 14 partners of IPEF include the United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Our announcements [today] are a direct result of president Biden’s leadership and show the common ground we can find if we work with like-minded partners to get the right people to the table and engage in meaningful, consistent dialogue,” said secretary Raimondo. “IPEF is an economic initiative establishing a framework through which we can deepen our economic engagement and work together to address shared economic challenges.
“Our commitments and collective actions under these agreements will deliver tangible economic benefits to the United States and our 13 IPEF partners. I’m pleased with everything that we have accomplished already, and in record time, but this is only the beginning. Our agreements are envisioned to continue delivering concrete economic progress for the United States and for our partners. And thanks to president’s Biden bold vision, we are on track to do just that.”
Through the proposed IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the partners designed an economic cooperation agreement that seeks to support their transitions to clean economies by improving and enhancing the regulatory and policy environment, sharing best practices, accelerating the deployment of clean technologies, and capturing the resulting economic opportunities.
The US fact sheet on the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement is available here.
Through the proposed Fair Economy Agreement, the partners achieved high-ambition outcomes to strengthen anti-corruption efforts through both legally binding and non-binding commitments, and recognize and support efforts on tax transparency and exchange of information, domestic resource mobilization, and effective implementation and administration of tax policies in the IPEF region. These outcomes send a clear message that IPEF partners are committed to making our economies the best destinations for trade and investment in the region through upholding transparency, predictability, and the rule of law.
The US fact sheet on the Fair Economy Agreement is available here.
“The IPEF partners concluded negotiations on establishing a ministerial-level IPEF Council and Joint Commission to ensure the durability of these agreements,” said US Department of Commerce press release.
