Reuters: US, Indo-Pacific partners agree on clean energy, anti-graft pillars
US, Indo-Pacific partners agree on clean energy, anti-graft pillarsBy David Lawder
November 16, 2023 2:31 PM EST
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Countries in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) on Thursday announced agreement on two more "pillars" of the initiative, covering cooperation on clean energy and anti-corruption measures, even as IPEF trade talks languish.
Ministers from the 14 IPEF countries also formally signed the
previously agreed text of a third pillar, covering supply chain resiliency, at a meeting during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in San Francisco.
The agreements on three of the four IPEF pillars leave the initiative's trade pillar in limbo, after negotiations over the past week
failed to produce a deal.
The lack of an IPEF trade agreement is a setback for the Biden administration. It had aimed to showcase the initiative during the APEC summit as a symbol of its economic re-engagement in Asia, providing countries a counterweight to China's growing trade and economic clout in the region.