The supply chain agreement, signed by the 14-member grouping IPEF, aims to increase the resilience, efficiency, diversification, and security of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the agreement seeks to establish institutional mechanisms to enable the 14 countries to work together on supply chains in critical sectors and key goods.
IPEF partners, including India, signed the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience on November 14, 2023.
The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo. The 14 IPEF partners represent 40% of global GDP and 28% of global goods and services trade.
The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy (issues like tax and anti-corruption). “The IPEF Supply Chain Agreement is a first-of-its-kind plurilateral agreement that aims to increase the resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness, and inclusivity of supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region,” Goyal said.
