Deputy USTR Says Stay Tuned for News on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Kenya
The deputy U.S. trade representative whose portfolio covers Asia and Africa acknowledged that it may be more challenging to get buy-in from countries for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework without the carrot of lower U.S. tariffs, but she said corporate support will help negotiators get agreement.
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Deputy USTR Sarah Bianchi, speaking at the annual Washington International Trade Association conference on Feb. 1, said countries won't have to join the trade module to be part of the IPEF, but those that decide to participate will need to agree to binding commitments in digital trade, labor standards and the environment. In addition to trade issues, the IPEF will address tax and anti-corruption initiatives, supply chain resilience and infrastructure and decarbonization, she said.
"It’s not going to contain market access commitments, but there are going to be high standard rules to improve interoperability," Bianchi said. She said the administration would be sharing more details with the public in weeks, not months.
Bianchi characterized as "very difficult" the conversations she has been having with China about the trade relationship. "It is really clear that the Chinese haven't met their commitment in phase one,” she said, specifically mentioning purchase promises, "That's something we're trying to address."
When asked by moderator Ken Levinson, WITA's executive director, what levers the administration has to move China to fulfill its commitments, she said that the administration isn't looking to escalate tension but is reviewing all the tools at its disposal to hold China accountable. She said it also wants to invent new tools "to defend our interests," and mentioned the administration is talking with allies about how to confront nonmarket practices that distort global trade. She specifically said the European Union and the U.S. are looking to protect their mutual competitiveness and technological leadership.
She said elements of China's nonmarket practices that weren't part of the phase one agreement "are also a serious threat to American economic interests, and we have and will continue to raise these concerns with Beijing as well.”
"We’re trying to create … a stable relationship, but it’s also a difficult one and we're in a difficult stage in the relationship," she said.
Bianchi was asked whether India would join IPEF, and she said that the administration has to balance inclusiveness with a desire to get it done expeditiously and with high ambition. But, she said, "We were quite pleased with how the discussions went in Delhi," and said that while "a long list of trade concerns" remains, it was encouraging to resolve the barriers to American pork exports.
She also was asked about the status of the paused free trade negotiations with Kenya. "We’ll have more to say on Kenya in the coming weeks," she said. "We do want to keep a really deep engagement going."