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(Bloomberg) — The US and 13 partner nations in Asia and the Pacific will sign agreements on two more parts of an economic pact key to Washington’s strategy to build clout in the region.
Negotiations on the clean and fair economy pillars of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework were concluded last year and the agreements will be signed Thursday, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said ahead of an expected ministerial meeting to discuss the deal that will also be attended by US Secretary for Commerce Gina Raimondo.
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The pact comprises the so-called “four pillars” that includes clean economy, which focuses on the transition to renewable energy and fighting climate change, and a fair economy, which relates to taxation and corruption issues.
It also earlier agreed on the supply-chain pillar, which aims to avoid the kind of bottlenecks that occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, but fell short of a deal on the final trade pillar over thornier issues such as rules for digital commerce and labor.
Wong noted that some countries have pushed back their emission reduction plans, while warning that countries cannot afford to slip in the time-line to get to net zero, amid the growing climate crisis.
Raimondo announced at the same forum that a coalition including allied climate partners, BlackRock, GIC, the Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek has committed to invest over $25 billion in capital that can be deployed in the Indo-Pacific emerging market infrastructure.
The IPEF is part of a sweeping effort led by US President Joe Biden to counter China’s deep-rooted economic influence in Asia. The other participating countries include Japan, India and South Korea, which all rank among the 10 biggest national economies in the world, with the 14 nations included representing about $38 trillion in economic output.
Wong earlier said the 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations is keen to deepen ties with the US to benefit from the peace and prosperity brought by America’s presence in the region.
“For decades, America’s presence in Asia has brought peace and prosperity and created a stable environment for countries like Singapore to prosper,” Wong said during his remarks at the forum. “That’s why Singapore has long been an advocate for the US to actively engage the region, especially Southeast Asia.”
—With assistance from Eric Martin.
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