Thammasat University students interested in ASEAN studies, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, economics, history, political science, sociology, law, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 4 July Zoom webinar on The Evolving IPEF: Update and Perspectives from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The event, on Tuesday, 4 July 2023 at 9am Bangkok time, is presented by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore.

The TU Library collection includes books about different aspects of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

Students are invited to register at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6V8FxWLkT_uQnzmnXjcgTw#/registration

The event webpage explains:

In a bid to re-engage economically with the region, United States President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Tokyo on 23 May 2022. Seven ASEAN countries (excluding the newest members) and seven other countries from the Indo-Pacific region have signed up. IPEF is not an FTA or a traditional trade agreement but more of a framework for setting rules and standards. The much-awaited return of the US to the region as an economic partner was met with great expectations, and standards by which IPEF is judged were set accordingly high, also leaving a lot of room for disappointment. Nevertheless, a positive start has been made with the conclusion of negotiations on a Supply Chain Agreement announced in Detroit in May 2023. This seminar will provide an overview of IPEF and its evolution, and consider perspectives from three ASEAN members: Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. It will focus on what these countries perceive as potential benefits and challenges in the agreement and how it might evolve to serve individual and collective interests.

About the Speakers

Ramita Iyer is a Research Analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore. Her research focus is on geoeconomic and geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific region. […]

Dr. Jayant Menon joined the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute as Senior Fellow to continue his work on trade and development in the Asian region, following his early retirement from the ADB in 2020. […]  

The TU Library collection includespublished research by Dr. Menon.

Dr. Kaewkamol “Karen” Pitakdumrongkit is a Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. […]

Dr. Siwage Dharma Negara is Co-Coordinator for the Indonesia Studies Programme and Coordinator for the Singapore APEC Study Centre at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. […]

An official US government website explains:

In May 2022, the United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This framework will advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for our economies. Through this initiative, the IPEF partners aim to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region.  This framework will offer tangible benefits that fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region.  The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 percent of global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.

The launch began discussions of future negotiations on the following pillars: (1) Trade; (2) Supply Chains; (3) Clean Energy, Decarbonization, and Infrastructure; and (4) Tax and Anti-Corruption.  The IPEF is designed to be flexible, meaning that IPEF partners are not required to join all four pillars.

A 2022 White House briefing included the statement:

Today in Tokyo, Japan, President Biden launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Together, we represent 40% of world GDP. 

The United States is an Indo-Pacific economic power, and expanding U.S. economic leadership in the region is good for American workers and businesses — as well as for the people of the region. IPEF will enable the United States and our allies to decide on rules of the road that ensure American workers, small businesses, and ranchers can compete in the Indo-Pacific. As the President has said, tackling inflation is a top economic priority, and this framework will help lower costs by making our supply chains more resilient in the long term, protecting us against costly disruptions that lead to higher prices for consumers.

U.S. foreign direct investment in the region totaled more than $969 billion in 2020 and has nearly doubled in the last decade, and we are the leading exporter of services to the region, helping fuel regional growth. Trade with the Indo-Pacific supports more than three million American jobs and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment in the United States. With 60 percent of the world’s population, the Indo‑Pacific is projected to be the largest contributor to global growth over the next 30 years. 

The United States and our partners in the region believe that much of our success in the coming decades will depend on how well governments harness innovation — especially the transformations afoot in the clean energy, digital, and technology sectors — while fortifying our economies against a range of threats, from fragile supply chains to corruption to tax havens. The past models of economic engagement did not address these challenges, leaving our workers, businesses, and consumers vulnerable. The framework will focus on four key pillars to establish high-standard commitments that will deepen our economic engagement in the region:

Connected Economy: On trade, we will engage comprehensively with our partners on a wide range of issues. We will pursue high-standard rules of the road in the digital economy, including standards on cross-border data flows and data localization. We will work with our partners to seize opportunities and address concerns in the digital economy, in order to ensure small and medium sized enterprises can benefit from the region’s rapidly growing e-commerce sector, while addressing issues is such as online privacy and discriminatory and unethical use of Artificial Intelligence. We will also seek strong labor and environment standards and corporate accountability provisions that promote a race to the top for workers through trade.

Resilient Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind supply chain commitments that better anticipate and prevent disruptions in supply chains to create a more resilient economy and guard against price spikes that increase costs for American families. We intend to do this by establishing an early warning system, mapping critical mineral supply chains, improving traceability in key sectors, and coordinating on diversification efforts.

Clean Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind commitments on clean energy, decarbonization, and infrastructure that promote good-paying jobs. We will pursue concrete, high-ambition targets that will accelerate efforts to tackle the climate crisis, including in the areas of renewable energy, carbon removal, energy efficiency standards, and new measures to combat methane emissions.

Fair Economy: We will seek commitments to enact and enforce effective tax, anti-money laundering, and anti-bribery regimes that are in line with our existing multilateral obligations to promote a fair economy. These will include provisions on the exchange of tax information, criminalization of bribery in accordance with UN standards, and effective implementation of beneficial ownership recommendations to strengthen our efforts to crack down on corruption.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)