Piyush Goyal attends the first in-person Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum in Los Angeles

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Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goel is attending the two day (8-9 September) first in person Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum in Los Angeles, United States.

The meeting is being co- hosted by the U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. 

The first Virtual meeting was held on 26 June 2022 which was hosted by the United States.

The meeting hopes to work out an agreement on the four pillars of the IPEF.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) :

• The United States of America President Joe Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) on 23 May 2022 in Tokyo, Japan.
• 14 countries Australia, Brunei, Fiji, Indonesia, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam along with the United States are members of IPEF.
•  Together, these countries represent 40% of world GDP.

Aim of the IPEF :

• It is not a trade bloc where tariffs on goods and services amongst the member countries are reduced to boost trade.
•  IPEF is an attempt by the US to offer an alternative supply chain to the countries of Asia-Pacific region against China.
• IPEF will focus on improving the supply chain in the economy so that it can withstand disruption as witnessed during covid pandemic and will make the economy stronger and lower the cost of production .
• To reduce over reliance on China and to diversify the supply chain, the United States is promoting IPEF.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

There are four pillars of IPEF :

• fair and resilient trade (including digital, labour, environmental and other standards); 
• supply chain resilience;
•  infrastructure, decarbonisation and clean energy; and 
• Tax and anti-corruption.
• The Indian government feels that this initiative of the US will help India become a part of the global supply chain. It hopes to attract a sizable global investment in the manufacturing sector as the world moves away from China.