August 24, 2022
Regional American Business Taskforce Positioned to Contribute to the Indo-Pacific Negotiations
Coalition says global businesses have unique perspective for forthcoming trade talks
SINGAPORE — Today, the American Association of the Indo-Pacific (AAIP) launched its business leadership taskforce for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiations.
The IPEF Taskforce comprises representatives of leading U.S. companies operating in the Indo-Pacific region, American Chambers of Commerce (AmChams) from IPEF economies, and a number of influential policy experts from the region and Washington, D.C. The Taskforce aims for regional U.S. businesses to play a leadership role in contributing to the forthcoming multilateral negotiations between IPEF members, comprising the U.S., Japan, India, Singapore, Australia, and other regional economies.
“U.S. businesses in the region have unique perspectives to bring to the negotiating table,” said Steven Chan, International Head of Government Relations for Asia-Pacific and Latin America at PayPal and a member of AAIP’s Board of Directors. “They are U.S.-headquartered companies with significant footprints and investments across the region, and business leaders with deep expertise in global tech, finance, supply chain, and health, among others,” Chan concluded.
Jackson Cox, Interim President of AAIP, hailed Wednesday’s meeting as a success, but just the first step in a long process to ensure a final and binding IPEF that truly makes it easier to do business across the region and paves the way for further U.S. investments.
“The principles and objectives we agreed upon today will give negotiators a new outlook on how to approach the negotiations. We’re calling for an agreement that sticks to five key principles. The IPEF must be worker-centric and aimed at liberalizing trade; contemporary and reflect the realities of global business; high utility and easy for businesses to use; future-proof and able to expand; and it must be complementary and build on existing trade agreements in the region.”
Mr. Cox said that the AAIP will present its views to negotiators and key officials in Washington and the region in the lead-up to the first round of IPEF negotiations, scheduled for early September.
“Negotiators need to remember that businesses – of all sizes – are already operating across borders. For the IPEF to work, we need to make this as easy as possible.”
About AAIP
The American Association of the Indo-Pacific (americanindopac.com) is a membership-led organization that works to strengthen American business and investment in the Indo-Pacific region. AAIP does this through policy initiatives, ongoing engagement with policymakers in Washington, D.C., and in the region, and close collaboration with other business associations. AAIP is legally registered in the United States as a 501c6 non-profit corporation. AAIP membership is only held by U.S.-headquartered companies and business associations.
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