IPEF talks underway in Singapore
Politico | 8 May 2023
IPEF talks underway in Singapore
By STEVEN OVERLY
ALL EYES ON SINGAPORE: U.S. trade negotiators are in Singapore this week for the latest round of talks over the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, the economic initiative that top administration officials have said they’re on track to conclude by year’s end.
Trade watchers tell Morning Trade that the Singapore confab is a key one to watch. The 14 participating countries have already come together in recent months to discuss negotiating objectives and propose initial text for major swaths of the agreement. Now, the real wheeling and dealing should be underway.
This is also the negotiating round that immediately precedes a gathering of the IPEF trade ministers scheduled for later this month in Detroit. The gang has not gotten together since before the negotiations formally started and the Singapore deliberations will invariably set the tone when they meet in Motor City.
Digital doings: There’s especially keen interest in how discussions around the deal’s digital provisions play out in Singapore. Those are shaping up to be the most politically contentious here in the U.S., with progressive groups and corporate lobbyists viewing the agreement as the new front in their yearslong battle over the need to regulate the U.S. tech sector.
A coalition of labor and environmental groups has already planned a rally in Detroit ahead of the IPEF ministerial meeting, as well as a roundtable discussion set to include Michigan Reps. Debbie Dingell (D) and Shri Thanedar(D), our own Gavin Bade reported on Friday.
