• 06 February 2024

Indo-Pacific Supply Chain Pact to Come into Force in February 2024

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a groundbreaking resilience pact, is set to take effect on February 24, 2024. This landmark agreement involves 14 partner nations, including India, Japan, Australia, and the United States. Let’s delve into the details of this significant development.

What Is the IPEF?

The IPEF is an initiative launched by US President Joe Biden in May 2022. It aims to foster deeper cooperation among like-minded countries in critical areas such as:

1. Clean Energy
2. Supply Chain Resilience
3. Digital Trade

Key Features of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement:

1. Coordination and Collaboration: The pact facilitates a collaborative approach to strengthen supply chains and prevent potential disruptions. It emphasizes coordination among the IPEF partners to build resilient, efficient, productive, sustainable, transparent, diversified, secure, fair, and inclusive supply chains.

2. Member Nations: Besides India, Japan, and Australia, the other member nations of the IPEF include Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

3. Addressing Supply Chain Disruptions: The IPEF member nations negotiated the supply chain agreement to establish a framework for deeper collaboration. It aims to prevent, mitigate, and prepare for supply chain disruptions, drawing lessons from recent challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Implementation Steps:

1. Ratification and Approval: Since the signing of the IPEF supply chain agreement in November, five IPEF partners—India, Japan, Singapore, Fiji, and the United States—have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval. This action has facilitated the agreement’s entry into force.

2. Focus Areas After Entry into Force:

   • Supply Chain Council: Identifying representatives to the supply chain council by no later than March 25.
   • Crisis Response Network: Establishing a crisis response network.
   • Labour Rights Advisory Board: Selecting the chair of the labour rights advisory board by no later than April 24.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s Perspective:

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo expressed enthusiasm about the IPEF’s progress: “With the IPEF supply chain agreement shortly entering into force, we will now move forward and work collaboratively through this innovative framework. Our goal is to strengthen our supply chains and prevent potential disruptions for the collective benefit of our countries’ workers and businesses.”

Conclusion:

The Indo-Pacific Supply Chain Pact represents a significant step toward enhancing regional economic resilience. As the world faces evolving challenges, this collaborative effort aims to ensure stable and efficient supply chains, benefiting not only the member nations but also the global economy.

Source: Landmark Indo-Pacific supply chain pact to come into force on Feb 242: U.S. Department of Commerce Announces Upcoming Entry into Force of the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement