The U.S. Department of Commerce announced recently that it had made more progress in establishing a supply chain agreement with the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).
According to the department, an inaugural virtual meeting of three supply chain bodies established under the IPEF Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience – the Supply Chain Council, the Crisis Response Network, and the Labor Rights Advisory Board – marked a step in realizing the partners’ goals under the agreement.
The agreement is designed to foster closer cooperation among the 14 IPEF partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam – to strengthen resilience and competitiveness of supply chains, while preparing for and responding to supply chain disruptions. The agreement also aims to strengthen labor rights in the region. Officials said the latest actions built upon progress made last month in Singapore, where U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and participating IPEF partners singed the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the IPEF Fair Economy Agreement and an overarching agreement on IPEF.
“The economic impact of COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in our supply chains that caused a ripple effect across the country and around the world. To safeguard our supply chains from future global disruptions – whether it be a pandemic or natural disaster – we knew we needed to act swiftly and decisively,” Secretary Gina Raimondo, said. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, we established IPEF, and barely two-years later, are quickly working together with our partners to ensure we’re prepared to mitigate the impact of crises, while building a stronger, more prosperous economy for American workers, consumers, and businesses.”