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Pillar-IV of IPEF will enhance info-sharing among its 14 members: Goyal
The fourth pillar of the IPEF, which aims to create a fair economy, will enhance information-sharing among its 14 members to facilitate asset recovery and strengthen cross-border investigations and prosecutions, commerce minister Piyush Goyal has said.
The fourth pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which aims to create a fair economy, will enhance information-sharing among its 14 members to facilitate asset recovery and strengthen cross-border investigations and prosecutions, commerce minister Piyush Goyal has said.
Goyal was in San Francisco for the third ministerial meeting of IPEF, where member nations also signed a supply chain agreement under Pillar-II, and reached at a broad consensus over the clean economy under Pillar-III, which aims to advance cooperation on research, development, commercialisation, availability, accessibility, and deployment of clean energy and climate-friendly technologies and facilitate investment towards climate-related projects in the region. IPEF nations account for 40% of global GDP and 28% of the global goods and services trade. The four pillars of the framework are -- trade (Pillar I), supply chains (Pillar II), clean economy (Pillar III), and fair economy (Pillar IV).
Goyal said he was “extremely pleased” to join the US President and other leaders of IPEF as they “collectively” agreed on Pillars II, III and IV. India has joined three pillars, and has an observer status in Pillar-I.
“I am confident that the launch of several IPEF initiatives, such as the critical minerals dialogue, investment accelerator, catalytic fund, investor forum, IPEF networks, and so on, will usher in sustainable growth and development, progress and prosperity for the people of IPEF countries. India is ready to collaborate for collective positive action,” Goyal said in a tweet.
Following the conclusion of substantial negotiations on Pillar II in May 2023, the IPEF ministers signed the Supply Chain Agreement during the November ministerial meeting. Negotiations under Pillar-III and IV, along with the agreement on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, were substantially concluded in this ministerial meeting, an official statement said on Friday. The agreement seeks to establish a ministerial-level council and a commission.
During his intervention under Pillar-III, Goyal stressed on the need for increased collaboration in research and development (R&D) for innovative and affordable climate friendly technologies. He underscored the need to prioritise implementation of cooperative work programmes envisaged under this pillar, including hydrogen supply chain initiative and other proposals in the pipeline such as India’s proposal for biofuels and e-waste recycling.
IPEF, jointly launched by the US and other countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23, 2022 at Tokyo, has 14 partner nations -- Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and USA. It seeks to strengthen economic engagement among partners with the goal of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region.
Under the Pillar-IV (fair economy), IPEF partners aim to strengthen implementation of effective anti-corruption and tax measures to boost commerce, trade, and investment among member economies. During deliberations, Goyal highlighted enhancing information-sharing among partners, facilitating asset recovery and strengthening cross-border investigations and prosecutions as key benefits to emerge from the agreement, the statement said. He said that this would strengthen the joint resolve to fight against corruption, money-laundering and terror financing.
The supply-chain agreement concluded under Pillar-II recognises the importance of building resilient and competitive supply chains across the Indo-Pacific region. This first-of-its-kind agreement will establish a regional supply chains with improved crisis response capabilities if supply chains disrupt. “The 14 IPEF partners continue their work on their respective domestic processes necessary for the entry into force of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, and are eager to begin to put it into formal action,” the statement said.
