US partners in Indo-Pacific region, including India, sign economic pact

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(June 6) The US and 13 other nations in Asia and the Pacific signed agreements on an economic pact key to Washington’s strategy to build clout in the region.

Partners of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, IPEF, signed the clean economy and fair economy agreements, US Secretary for Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters in a briefing in Singapore at the end of the two-day forum. The agreements represent two of the so-called “four pillars” that the pact rests on.

“I wanted to demonstrate to our partners that the US doesn’t just say what our intentions are, but we show up,” Raimondo said. “We need to do the hard work of identifying opportunities, making connections, and being present in the region and in Singapore we’ve done just that.”

The IPEF is part of a sweeping effort led by US President Joe Biden to counter China’s deep-rooted economic influence in Asia. The other participating countries include Japan, India and South Korea, which all rank among the 10 biggest national economies in the world, with the 14 nations included representing about $38 trillion in economic output.

While the accord on clean economy focuses on the transition to renewable energy and fighting climate change, the one on fair economy relates to taxation and corruption issues.

The stakeholders earlier agreed on the supply-chain pillar, which aims to avoid the kind of bottlenecks that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, but they fell short of a deal on the final trade pillar over thornier issues such as rules for digital commerce and labor.

A senior US commerce official did not comment on when or indeed whether the various sides would reach a deal on the final pillar. While noting that not all partners signed the accords Thursday, the official said a couple of countries are completing domestic processes and have indicated their intention to sign off on it soon.

Raimondo announced earlier Thursday, June 5, that a coalition including allied climate partners, BlackRock, GIC, the Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek has committed to invest over $25 billion in capital that can be deployed in the Indo-Pacific emerging market infrastructure. She also said the countries came today identifying over $23 billion of priority infrastructure projects and US industry is directly connected with the government on those investment opportunities.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong earlier in the day said at the forum that the 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations is keen to deepen ties with the US to benefit from the peace and prosperity brought by America’s presence in the region.

“For decades, America’s presence in Asia has brought peace and prosperity and created a stable environment for countries like Singapore to prosper,” Wong said during his remarks at the forum. “That’s why Singapore has long been an advocate for the US to actively engage the region, especially Southeast Asia.”