New economic framework IPEF an empty US pledge: Financial Times

LONDON -- The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) launched by US President Joe Biden last year is an "empty" trade pledge to the region, an opinion article published by the Financial Times has said.

Its first results, of an initiative on supply chains, were "unimpressive," and the US announcement "has no binding mechanisms," Alan Beattie, a senior trade writer for the British newspaper, noted in the article on June 8.

"The IPEF's fundamental flaw is exactly that predicted by experienced trade folks from the beginning," Beattie said, adding that "without substantial new access to the US market or other trade privileges on offer, there's little incentive for partner countries to make big commitments themselves."

"The IPEF will not substantially reroute value networks away from China or otherwise meaningfully counter Beijing's geoeconomic influence," he said.