MID Assignment: 01

Topic: Bengali

Submitted by:
Name: Sachya Kumar Ghosh
NSU ID: 2211144030
Course: POL101
Section: 09
Submitted to:
Respectful Dr. M Jashim Uddin sir
North South University
 What is IPEF:
Joe Biden, the United States vice president, announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
for Prosperity (IPEF) on May 23, 2022. With the late admission of Fiji, the first South Pacific
Island to join, the framework officially began with a total of fourteen participating founding
member nations, with an open invitation for additional countries to participate at any time. The
project, according to Biden, is "creating the new rules for the 21st-century economy," and it will
help participants' economies "develop quicker and fairly." Insisting that the framework
represented "the most substantial foreign economic engagement that the United States has ever
had in this region," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made her case. Its similarities to the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, which the United States withdrew from in 2017, have been noted by
analysts.
The initiative is intended to be a precursor for later negotiations, as it does not include a uniform
lowering of tariffs. Fourteen countries are participating in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
(IPEF): the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, India, Fiji, and
seven ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam).
The framework will focus on four key pillars to establish high-standard commitments that will
deepen our economic engagement in the region:
1.Connected Economy: On trade, we will engage comprehensively with our partners on various
issues. We will pursue high-standard road rules in the digital economy, including standards on
cross-border data flows and localization. We will work with our partners to seize opportunities
and address concerns in the digital economy to ensure small and medium-sized enterprises can
benefit from the region’s rapidly growing e-commerce sector while addressing issues such as
online privacy and discriminatory and unethical use of Artificial Intelligence. We will also seek
intense labor and environment standards and corporate accountability provisions that promote a
race to the top for workers through trade.
2.Resilient Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind supply chain commitments that better
anticipate and prevent disruptions in supply chains to create a more resilient economy and guard
against price spikes that increase costs for American families. We intend to establish an early
warning system, map critical mineral supply chains, improve traceability in crucial sectors, and
coordinate diversification efforts.
3.Clean Economy: We will seek first-of-their-kind commitments on clean energy,
decarbonization, and infrastructure that promote good-paying jobs. We will pursue concrete,
high-ambition targets that will accelerate efforts to tackle the climate crisis, including renewable
energy, carbon removal, energy efficiency standards, and new measures to combat methane
emissions.
4.Fair Economy: We will seek commitments to enact and enforce the effective tax, anti-money
laundering, and anti-bribery regimes that align with our existing multilateral obligations to
promote a fair economy. These will include provisions on the exchange of tax information,
criminalization of bribery by UN standards, and effective implementation of beneficial
ownership recommendations to strengthen our efforts to crack down on corruption.

Why Bangladesh should join IPEF

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework will introduce new regulatory benchmarks throughout
Asia, raising expectations for Bangladeshi enterprises and the government. The Indo-Pacific
Economic Framework for Prosperity does not include Bangladesh (IPEF). However, US
representatives have given their Bangladeshi colleagues a briefing on the IPEF. This shows that
Washington DC thinks the IPEF would impact Bangladesh's economy and that Bangladesh may
participate in the future. Separately, there are still a lot of questions about the IPEF's future
direction. A framework for international discussion has been developed by the administration of
US President Joe Biden based on what the president might accomplish with a sharply split
congress. However, each participating government has unique political and economic objectives.
New laws in IPEF nations may also impact Dhaka's economic goals. Dhaka has stated it would
like to sign at least ten preferential trade, free trade, and comprehensive economic agreements in
the upcoming years. It is currently looking at a number of these accords across Asia. The
viability of the trade and economic deals Dhaka is considering would be immediately impacted if
IPEF members tightened business requirements. The ability of Dhaka to implement the reforms
required for trade and economic agreements has already raised concerns among governments of
more developed economies and trade groupings. As they increase their role in the IPEF,
governments from smaller economies would need more time to be able and ready to discuss
Dhaka's specific concerns. The main issue at hand is whether Bangladesh should join IPEF.
Bangladesh was encouraged by the US to join the bandwagon, but the country has yet to decide
because it has yet to deal with any influential business groups in the past. And China, one of
Bangladesh's main commercial partners, believes Dhaka should refrain from joining the platform
led by the US. The growth of this region depends heavily on peace and security, according to Li
Jiming, the Chinese ambassador to Dhaka, who made this statement on June 8 during a seminar.
He stated: "Despite not having AUKUS, QUAD, or IPEF for the past ten years, we are doing
well. I have no doubt that things will become better in the future. Bangladesh should therefore
use caution when using these platforms." Bangladesh is a sovereign, independent nation. Every
nation must refrain from complying with Bangladesh to follow its policy. We can only hope that
Bangladesh will choose the best for its interests and foreign policy. M. Humayun Kabir, a former
Bangladeshi ambassador to the US, stated to Prothom Alo in the final week of May that the
nation must only move forward after completing numerous internal reforms, such as those
affecting the tax code and combating corruption.
 Conclusion
Bangladesh will not join the newly formed US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Forum (IPEF) unless
the accounts are clear. While it is already evident that the aftershocks from the tectonic events in
Europe will continue to reverberate around the world for the foreseeable future, for countries like
Bangladesh, the economic fallout will bring forth multiple challenges. It already has. Located
strategically on the top of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is connected to the mighty Indian
Ocean and, by extension, the Pacific. Therefore, economic cooperation in vast maritime waters is
a logical choice. The recently announced concept of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
(IPEF) can be one such choice. As the name suggests, the proposed IPEF is an economic forum
on four main pillars: economic connectivity, economic resilience, a clean economy, and a just
economy. It is an essential step towards evolving a rules-based trading order that is inclusive and
open to all the member states in the region. The timing of announcing an interest is crucial if
Bangladesh decides to engage in talks with other parties regarding the IPEF, which it should do.
It is better to make your intentions known when the prospective forum is still in the planning
stages. This will provide Bangladesh the chance to be a key player in formulating the norms of
engagement that will enable us to safeguard and advance our economic interests on a national
level. These may include, but need not be limited to, a comprehensive framework for
guaranteeing the stability of supply chains, unrestricted market access for its exports, multimodal
and seamless connectivity, investments resulting in the creation of jobs, and offering protection
for the export of labor under legal frameworks.
 Reference
https://www.india-briefing.com/news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-indo-pacific-
economic-framework-25141.html/

https://www.thedailystar.net/views/opinion/news/ipef-has-something-it-bangladesh-3042671

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/22/politics/joe-biden-japan-monday/index.html

https://www.meti.go.jp/english/mobile/2022/20221107001en.html#:~:text=There%20are
%2014%20countries%20participating,%2C%20Thailand%2C%20and%20Vietnam).

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/23/fact-sheet-in-asia-
president-biden-and-a-dozen-indo-pacific-partners-launch-the-indo-pacific-economic-
framework-for-prosperity/

https://en.prothomalo.com/opinion/op-ed/should-bangladesh-join-the-us-led-ipef-or-not

https://www.newagebd.net/article/177180/significance-for-bangladesh