EVER since May 2023, when the-14 member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework reached an agreement on strengthening the resilience of supply chains, a crucial aspect of the framework’s second pillar, an intense debate has been ignited within the academia and media regarding its feasibility and implications. For obvious reasons, scholars and commentators have delved into potential ramifications and explored various perspectives on the matter.

Two weeks after India formally joined three of the four pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), external affairs minister S Jaishankar met United States (US) commerce secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington DC on Monday and discussed the framework and its implications.

That India has said it will temporarily withdraw from the trade negotiations under the framework of the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework For Prosperity", on the grounds that it can see no benefits in being part of it, undoubtedly deals a heavy blow to the United States as Washington regards the country as an indispensable partner in its efforts to contain China.

On September 8-9, 2022, the Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attended the Ministerial Conference under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) hosted by USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Marie Raimondo.

So far, India has agreed to three pillars relating to supply chains: tax, anti-corruption and clean energy, but the fourth pillar on data and privacy is yet to be completely agreed upon.

Japan’s vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) is nearing an inflection point. The government is faced with a choice on whether to shift its traditional strategic posture to take a firmer stance against China. Japan must decide how far it will go to defend the existing international order that the United States and its partners have largely constructed and which has diplomatically, economically and militarily benefited Japan.

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework talks seek platform for economies to engage on trade, supply chains and labour standards.

The "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity" announced by US President Joe Biden on May 23 is progressing on its negotiations. After the meeting of senior officials from the IPEF member countries in Singapore in mid-July, and the first virtual ministerial meeting in end-July, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai will host the first in-person ministerial meeting in California on Thursday and Friday.

Economist Zhong Zhengsheng says the US might use tariffs in concert with the IPEF economic framework to restrict China’s economy

For India, which is not part of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement, the IPEF might emerge as a more reliable and credible alternative in creating new mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific