ISDS Case Map
Asia
Ngā Toki Whakarururanga believes IPEF provisions would cut across the rights, interests, duties and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples throughout the region.
‘Global Britain’ needs new friends and trading partners as the economic harm from Brexit becomes clear.
Indonesian Civil Society held a protest today in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta to express its rejection of the IPEF. In the midst of the global economic crisis, the US is trying to rebuild its national industrialisation with a less open free trade agreement and push for policy harmonisation based on US standards.
US trade officials are in Bali, Indonesia, this week for the latest round of negotiations over the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
Any final deal should correct the errors of past trade pacts and becomes a useful model for future agreements that deliver real benefits to people and the planet.
The US is trying to present IPEF as a rethinking of the aggressive trade liberalisation model it championed for the last four decades. At its core, however, IPEF appears to be mainly a geopolitical tool for the US to maintain its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific.
The Biden administration hopes to reach limited free trade agreements with countries in Europe and Asia that would not require congressional approval as it looks to ease allies’ concerns about its plans to bolster electric vehicle and battery production.
India has opted out of the trade pillar as broad consensus had not emerged on issues pertaining to labour, environment, digital trade, and public procurement.
The goal is to quickly create shared rules for the region, particularly in the digital sector, and to regain the initiative in the US-China contest for economic leadership in Asia.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that in the talks for the proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK, the focus is on what is acceptable to both countries and not allow sensitive issues to scuttle the discussions.
