Quad, other nations begin discussions on free trade pact
New Delhi, December 12
Quad partners — India, Australia, Japan and the US — and other nations started their first in-person round of negotiations to frame rules and standards for the 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) — a Biden administration’s effort to economically re-engage with the Indo-Pacific region after Donald Trump withdrew from a similar Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) FTA deal in 2017.
The negotiations will centre on four pillars — fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and clean energy, and tax and anti-corruption.
Negotiation on tariff cut has been excluded as it is a politically sensitive and time-consuming matter. India is not a part of the trade pillar.
The intention is to counter China’s One Belt One Road strategy of building infrastructure for developing countries to bring them under its influence.
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