US postpones Asia trade pact roll-out amid domestic criticism
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there was still work to be done on the most contentious part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SAN FRANCISCO - United States President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday signalled that it would postpone a draft of an Asia trade pact that had been set to be unveiled at a summit in San Francisco, after facing domestic criticism.
Mr Biden, who welcomed 20 other members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum to San Francisco, where he will meet on the sidelines with Chinese President Xi Jinping
However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there was still work to be done on the most contentious part of the so-called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) – the trade component.
“There’s been significant progress, but it looks not to be complete, like something that is likely to require further work,” she told reporters after leading talks with Apec finance ministers.
“Nevertheless, in a number of areas that I think are critically important to the United States, like supply chains, environment, sustainable finance, we’ve made a huge amount of progress and we’ve made progress on trade too, but it appears not to be complete,” she said.
IPEF falls well short of a traditional trade deal, as it does not offer trade access.
Nonetheless, it would aim to set standards for businesses across some 40 per cent of the global economy, including three of the world’s top five economies – the United States, Japan and India.
IPEF also includes Australia, South Korea and much of South-east Asia
On the eve of the summit, Senator Sherrod Brown, a member of Mr Biden’s Democratic Party close to labour unions who faces re-election in 2024 in battleground Ohio, called for the entire removal of trade from the IPEF.
“Any trade deal that does not include enforceable labour standards is unacceptable,” he said.
The Democrats enjoy only a slender majority in the Senate, and some in the party fear the IPEF could be a replay of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a more ambitious trade deal that former president Barack Obama pitched to Asian allies.
Donald Trump denounced that deal, claiming it ignored US workers’ interests, and pulled out immediately after entering the White House
