A LOCAL labor group has joined international calls for the public disclosure of the details of supply chain agreement provision of the proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) was among the 14 groups which made the demand, after IPEF Trade ministers made a “substantial conclusion” in their meeting in Detroit, Michigan on the said provision.
The provision is expected to “increase resilience, efficiency, productivity, sustainability, transparency, diversification, security, fairness, and inclusivity of their supply chain.”
“Yet since the Parties continue to withhold the text, we are prevented from assessing these claims and seeking to influence the final outcomes to ensure those benefits are real, and not a repeat of the trade agreements designed to benefit the powerful states and transnational corporations,” the two-page joint statement read.
The group urged the IPEF Trade ministers to release the document agreed in Detroit before it undergoes legal scrubbing, and signed.
Among the details they want to be disclosed are the operation and composition of accompanying “bodies in the sectors” to be included in the IPEF.
“The rush towards implementation needs to be tempered by the transparency, inclusivity, fairness and collaborative approach that you say is a hallmark of the outcome,” the group said.
They also demanded that similar transparency be given in other aspects of the agreement including digital trade and climate change.
Aside from SENTRO, the joint statement was endorsed by AID/WATCH (Australia), Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network (AFTINET), CFMEU Construction & General Division (Australia), Community and Public Sector Union SPSF Group (Australia), Electrical Trade Union (Australia), Focus on Global South, International Grail Justice and Trade Network, New South Wales Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Australia), Public Citizens (US), Trade Justice Education Fund (United States), Trade Justice Pilipinas (The Philippines), Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania (Australia).
IPEF is an economic initiative spearheaded by the US President Joe Biden and has 14 members namely, India, Japan, South Korea, US, Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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