Talks on supply chain agreement under IPEF substantially concludes: Govt
The agreement includes collaboration between member countries on improving logistics and connectivity; promoting investments in critical sectors and cooperation for mitigation of disruptions to ensure business continuity
PremiumMembers of the 14-nation bloc Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) have substantially concluded the negotiations on the supply chains agreement, the commerce ministry said on Sunday.
The agreement includes collaboration between member countries on improving logistics and connectivity; promoting investments in critical sectors and cooperation for mitigation of disruptions to ensure business continuity.
“At this meeting, negotiations under the Supply Chains (Pillar-II) were substantially concluded; while good progress was reported under the other IPEF Pillars," the ministry said.
The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo.
IPEF partners represent 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade. The 14 countries include the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, India, Fiji, and seven ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).
The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy which includes issues like tax and anti-corruption. India has joined all the pillars except the trade one.
“The proposed agreement would establish a new advisory board, consisting of government, worker and employer representatives, as well as a subcommittee composed of government representatives, to support the IPEF partners‘ promotion of labour rights in their supply chains, promotion of sustainable trade and investment, and facilitation of opportunities for investment in businesses that respect labour rights," the statement added.
The talks on supply chains, clean economy and fair economy were held on May 27 in Detroit, US. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal virtually participated in the ministerial meeting.
The proposed agreement on supply chains aims to increase the resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness and inclusivity of their supply chains through collaborative activities and individual actions taken by each IPEF partner.
(With PTI inputs)
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