The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) was launched by US President Biden in Tokyo, Japan in May 2022. The IPEF is seen as a means for the US to economically re-engage with the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, since the country pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement in 2017. IPEF potentially has economic clout with 40% of global GDP and 28% of global goods and services trade. IPEF currently has a total of 14 member countries and 7 out of 10 ASEAN countries are members of this framework (excludes Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar). The framework has 4 main pillars: i) trade; ii) supply chains; iii) clean energy, decarbonisation and infrastructure; and iv) taxation and anti-corruption. With the exception of the trade pillar, the other 3 pillars have reached an agreement among its members. However, negotiations to conclude the trade pillar broke down at the sidelines of the recent APEC meeting in November.
Given that IPEF is not a free trade agreement (no market access), are there really any tangible benefits of joining this framework? Can IPEF help to revitalise global value chains and boost trade and investment in the region? Will IPEF eventually evolve into a new form of regional cooperation? Or will this initiative fizzle out over time? Most importantly, does IPEF really matter to Southeast Asia, particularly at a time when the region is still struggling to recover from the global pandemic?
The Centre on Asia and Globalisation is holding its 9th Counterpoint Southeast Asia public webinar on 30 November 2023, asking:
“Does IPEF really matter to Southeast Asia?”. Four analysts from the region will provide their unique perspectives on this question.
Dr Su-Hyun Lee is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the MSc International Political Economy Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She primarily studies the issues of international and comparative political economy (IPE/CPE) including trade, labour, (re)distributive politics, and more recently with a focus on the electoral dynamics of US trade policy and the political and economic consequences of China’s development finance in cross-national perspectives.
Dr Sanchita Basu-Das is Economist at the Regional Cooperation and Integration Division of the Economic Research and Development Impact Department of ADB. She participates in numerous policy forums, including the G20, ASEAN and ASEAN+3. Her core research interests include regional cooperation initiatives and issues related to them, such as trade, logistics, industrial corridors, tourism, digital economy, institutions and others.
Mr Mark Anthony A. Barral is Research Associate at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies. He has worked on several studies related to trade and economic cooperation, as well as sentiment and text-of-trade analysis. His field of interests also include MSMEs, energy, and environment.
Ms Mae Chow is Research Assistant at the Centre on Asia and Globalization (CAG) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. Her research interests include US-China geopolitical rivalry, multilateral security cooperation, and the role of threat perception in foreign policy in ASEAN and the Asia Pacific.
Counterpoint Southeast Asia is a webinar and policy brief series that tackles strategic and complex questions facing Southeast Asia by presenting the perspectives of regional academics and policy experts. It is organised by the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, LKYSPP, NUS.