IPEF's clean, fair economy agreements should not restrict India's policy space: GTRI cautions govt
IPEF members concluding the negotiations for fair and clean economy agreements, India should follow a cautious approach while finalising the text of these pacts as new commitments need not restrict its policy space or tax revenue generation abilities, a report said.
Think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in its report that after the conclusion of the negotiations, the IPEF member countries, including India will now do domestic consultations and legal reviews and prepare final texts of the proposed agreements.
While doing that, the government needs to «focus on ensuring that new commitments do not overly restrict its policy space or tax revenue generation abilities,» it said.
This includes careful considerations in areas such as clean economy commitments, labour standards, and agricultural policies, it added.
India, the US and 12 other members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) have this week concluded the negotiations on the clean and fair economy agreements with a view to strengthen the implementation of effective anti-corruption and tax measures and promote sustainable trade.
It was announced after the third IPEF ministerial meeting held in San Francisco, California, this week.
The countries have also signed an agreement on supply chain resilience.
The GTRI said that these texts encompass diverse areas such as labour, environment, agriculture, and other relevant sectors, necessitating expert involvement from respective ministries.
«There is not enough scope for altering the substantially concluded texts through the domestic consultation of legal scrutiny processes, yet India may keep few critical issues in mind while finalising the agreements,» GTRI Co-Founder Ajay
