US and 12 countries join new Indo-Pacific trade pact

President Joe Biden announced 12 countries have joined a new trade pact that the White House says will help the United States work more closely with Asian economies on issues including supply chains, digital trade, clean energy and anti-corruption efforts.

The signatories joining the US in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Along with the United States, they represent 40 per cent of world GDP.

The countries said in a joint statement that the pact will help them collectively “prepare our economies for the future” following disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Critics say the framework has gaping shortcomings. It doesn't offer incentives to prospective partners by lowering tariffs or providing signatories with greater access to US markets. Those limitations may not make the US framework an attractive alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which still moved forward after the US bailed out.