March 28, 2023: The summaries of US inputs at the
recent Bali round of negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic
Framework (IPEF) reveal US pressure of the other 13 states to adopt
US standards. At the same time the US Congress is yet to determine
the IPEF agenda on the digital economy.
IPEF includes the US, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia,
Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Fiji and Vietnam.
US Trade Representative
Katherine Tai told a congressional committee on March 24 that
global rules around digital trade are out of date but that efforts
to advance them through negotiations like IPEF are inhibited
because Congress has yet to enact its own regulations, particularly
on topics like data privacy.
Our ability as negotiators to take forward steps is going to be
impacted by and really limited by how far you as legislators have
been able to go in terms of establishing regulatory frameworks that
are critical to the digital economy, Tai told Rep Suzan DelBene (D-Wash).
Mega tech companies have been prominent in creating the digital
trade agenda in IPEF. Current trade rules favour deregulation of
data flows and digital companies despite recent cyber hacking of
customer data, rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
and other examples which show that more, rather than less
regulation is needed.
Meanwhile, the
official US summaries of their inputs at Bali on March 13-19,
2023, covering Agriculture, Services Domestic Regulation and
Customs and Trade Facilitation, revealed that IPEF states would
have to invest heavily in online systems that will benefit
exporters of goods and services from the advanced economies in the
group the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
This focus could distort spending priorities of low-income IPEF
member states who may wish to prioritise education, health and
climate action, for example, ahead of trade.
The Agriculture section aims to expand export and import of food
in the region, while saying that governments should be able to
ensure health for plants, animals and communities, and food
security. The emphasis is on transparency in import licensing
procedures for agricultural products, certification requirements,
and equivalency to ensu...