[CTC] IPEF set to launch on Monday

Fri May 20 05:56:08 PDT 2022

The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), potentially the biggest trade-initiative of the Biden administration, is expected to be officially launched during the President's visit to Japan on Monday.  Below are a few issues to watch on labor rights, digital trade, green jobs and climate protections.  

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: "Mike Stankiewicz, Trade Justice" <mike at tradejusticeedfund.org <mailto:mike at tradejusticeedfund.org>>
> Subject: Indo-Pacific Economic Framework must benefit American workers
> To: arthur at tradejusticeedfund.org <mailto:arthur at tradejusticeedfund.org>
> Reply-To: mike at tradejusticeedfund.org <mailto:mike at tradejusticeedfund.org>
> 
> 
> Will the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) President Biden Announces During Asia Trip Benefit Working Americans?
> For Immediate Release:
> May 19, 2022
>  
> Contact: Mike Stankiewicz, mike at tradejusticeedfund.org <mailto:mike at tradejusticeedfund.org>, (202) 255-7472
>  
> WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ahead of the anticipated launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) during President Joe Biden's trip Asia, Arthur Stamoulis, executive director of the Trade Justice Education Fund, issued the following statements questioning whether IPEF is poised to advance the president’s vision for "worker-centered" trade policy that prioritizes the interests of working Americans over transitional corporations:
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> A 'Worker-Centered' IPEF Must Require Commitments From All Member Countries To Enforce Strong Labor Standards
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> "To create good-paying jobs and prevent offshoring, IPEF cannot be structured in such a way that allows countries to opt into the commercial benefits of the pact while opting out of pillars that impose strong labor and environmental standards. The first step in developing a new, worker-centered trade model through IPEF is by partnering only with nations committed to upholding core labor and human rights.  
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> "A number of the countries discussed as potential IPEF partners have been shown year-after-year in U.S. State and Labor Department reports as having abysmal records on human trafficking, forced labor, child labor and anti-union violence. These nations are not appropriate partners for a worker-centered IPEF agreement.
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> "For instance, Malaysia was downgraded to the lowest-possible tier in the State Department’s most recent report on human trafficking, meaning that it both fails to meet the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking and isn’t even trying to do so.  Trafficked labor is found in a number of the country's export-oriented industries, including electronics, garments, rubber manufacturing and palm oil.
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> "Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and other nations discussed as possible IPEF partners likewise have horrible labor rights track records and must not be allowed to benefit from IPEF’s commercial provisions unless and until the basic rights of working people throughout those nations are respected both in law and in practice."
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> For more info, see Most ASEAN Countries Are Not Appropriate Partners for the 'Worker-Centered' IPEF Agreement Biden Seeks <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmrHiqsPGGi-xR6mNf0-kFKk3STkYci-aVYRP68PW28SD6nq_6sL54S87GUDPTEjhmt9-jQfUVFsjOEuWN8cIHxTePBJ4SDD9TAFkEro1jStZTSt_QEZllazy1r49Ackx_5nfqXLPI6YFPW_hb5Sepk4eZXZ17IBZZpddoCCLAfLKDNcWH6OyXx_NvL6TUMHWr7SYdLKIrL33Clxk1p0QU_-I5voxyJF83wqt3zW0dx0XmvaNuWgQXzRm70m5zVx5Tyy-geBac2HP7VOAs3VY_6kXwVkWRMofVHrhtpr-uEbJ9Zk_vjLx3z5XKkGJ4gNPu3Gh41UvnCAGl1_DGIi5DWaIm6INxG7B9GS0DOJUUfRssmIg37M88fwZ6HeI5BE4hHh-aUyPw2ga7WoFuYxNGH0zNOQpbH_oUpnZa9sh1kJ8NmpEr5pQqFkaPwFlhsH4l8eHhkV9UtvuUaOEUt2HRWrwkBNZR-I7wIhSFZ3pRbp/3m6/V5mQW0q7RpOGejivUSjUPA/h0/XKawCaIJQsM5g6nVHLQvI0voZEPvOkcZUeVdPGDZYvU>
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> Allowing IPEF’s 'Digital Trade' Provisions To Replicate Past Trade Pact's Would Hurt Workers in the U.S. & Beyond
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> "At a time when the U.S. and the world are grappling with how to best regulate 'Big Tech' in areas as disparate as gig economy worker protections, algorithm discrimination, competition policy and anti-trust, corporate liability and consumer privacy, IPEF must not establish rules that restrict or dissuade countries from regulating digital entities or that lock-in retrograde domestic digital governance policies.
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> "Legitimate ‘digital trade’ proposals for IPEF should focus on remedying actual problems related to the online sale of imported goods, such as tariff evasion, prohibitions on the import of goods made by child or forced labor, and product safety. IPEF’s digital provisions cannot be allowed to promote binding international rules that limit governments from regulating online platforms in the interests of workers, consumers, small business competitors and civil rights.
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> "If IPEF follows the 'digital trade' model pushed by countries like Singapore and Australia, as well as previous U.S. administrations, IPEF could very easily end up helping companies offshore data-driven jobs to countries with low wages and weak worker projections, and could also restrict governments’ ability to effectively regulate the AI that increasingly influences workplace hiring, firing and promotion decisions and effects countless workers’ on-the-job safety and quality of work. If the interests of working people are not front-and-center, IPEF could also end up advancing a framework that helps massive global retail, advertising, transportation, hospitality and other businesses evade regulation, oversight and unionization through business misclassification."
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> For more info, see Comments on Digital and Emerging Technologies-Related Issues in an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Agreement <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/hDSVFUOQ746wgj5ueXhy8qpEYjdLDYmrE4XejVCQNbkDTE9l7pxQmAhbunxzv-QgMXVfkLuUAM6_KhlJKCmrTplgqXzOMO0Jt_lqgrs0MUzLNJGcCkl0UJevdjbz792utHsza1rqu-Ed5AGe4SVDo6BwArz365kPUwONKhvCPUyyxEf8cg-rCrNgESgkuljoqO4z0Cz_CDN1sFdEFUMnv4jR8ZflGC3r07dbz3enYzJTLjsNmvdokd7Sf6it7AsXQ2YG-5W-H36-JgZM2tgUbnBqri4WdXUqDm8yunprB20QZazJgyTcDtGPyaqDut3TCwf6KzfxNaEcBuGXWoX41zUsRzxxzKK4hM-8BCM6eYZDhETZBm8T6FLCQr3fqKo69xDHHnzHcqkWmAJ2hfDnI98dgRHpys8Sb92g-MksALpmPpT_HgT1s4tnJiinJJQR/3m6/V5mQW0q7RpOGejivUSjUPA/h1/tHkbAioPOvqOcXycUivBFIHTGCwBX76GRmxCjBAwy2I> and In Letter to President, 53 Labor, Civil Rights, Consumer & Other Organizations Warn About Harmful Provisions in 'Digital Trade <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmrHiqsPGGi-xR6mNf0-kFIB99Ek0zaneowLEA8budrpKH8qhjWAFtZIVGbaAC4Wbj0eorsrHPQPU5X9ag_udjrUc33tZEOEdZ7SPcLDNZfLHk-S-5uUgjBcsLxgyFWAX4nD_r-EarqvH8_zqrG83M_lao4SsEz0CPxEIN5ktu8Q7JMTSM2d2Upar_RAk_1_U3Vk4VT4TwoMWm-QhupltmOa0nx2FruSaqjvxtRwRwp2aUOwYRvcQhDcp2K4bf_5HSzM0HXqlmbe4_1wOa-iy-dSZ8zIRqB_Oeway9ribysaAebd1QYsU3RldTbrxRneQyYLfrTkt7Vi8dJQKjHvgcRcoHoOGpi7OClFszhDVrobde9gkxfxKMdH3D5C5_DA1XXVFXzwp053lDXK2thTY27Oa4TeTABOXcxXRFZGbRZ2Dn2tomX7tnMCvD3U9AxHOL5cu16j2MN5RuJM8QNt-Xb9sKga5dipkCqwt08pRBcDKgDT7TRL1_jL3HfxUjRkPA/3m6/V5mQW0q7RpOGejivUSjUPA/h2/6CbgNPpHHdpuT1HCDt6UhVC61lIXGPrGJ1NtnOHuuOc>’
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> IPEF Must Protect Green Jobs and Resilient Supply Chains With a 'Climate Peace Clause'
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> "The U.S. and other nations must be able to invest in and otherwise promote the creation of green industries including photovoltaics, electric vehicles, batteries and semiconductors without fear of costly and timely trade challenges.  
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> "Foreign countries are already using trade pacts to threaten President Biden's 'Build Back Better' initiatives on electric cars and to attack state-level solar programs. To eliminate this threat to green jobs and climate solutions moving forward, over 150 environmental organizations throughout the U.S. have called for the inclusion of a 'climate peace clause' in trade deals, under which all parties would agree not to use trade and investment rules to undermine one another’s climate initiatives.
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> "Earlier this month, climate peace clause language that was included in leaked drafts of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council ministerial statement ended up being deleted from the final published text. Including a climate peace clause in IPEF is imperative to enable effective promotion of green manufacturing in the U.S. and head of climate catastrophe."
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> For more info, see 150+ Environmental Groups Urge Inclusion of 'Climate Peace Clause' in Trade Agreements  <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmrHiqsPGGi-xR6mNf0-kFL7nZSBPrrKBZdpygjlcktWSnLti0G9S-aK0t54VZKBd3OvOQE_TFmK-i5QzPOgttV2HtUTbBuAPqSMaXB4U8KGC7GS6L-8xh1fe-NdvgcXYx_HsphnJ7ybKJ1DOk9WRhhNm3VxLbXCuXzUb5J2s4fGpvO-Ypd-UKOnIoWsWe2SfootkAOBkfrNUG_PVC9FsuQBT2_rCjCHs63B08i7tTmXrWJHdfbiD0xJY554qjGWuAXRen9kY9o-2fgh3PH2hUx1aHxv-s-gAieb78-WhAC9ILp-6b3IxzrkQHbwPrtxKwaiPjY6Wd-I2oXPhYSp49FDFf0NMYeYg57PJ6WwjQQw-ox37xABAuns5XbsZMzCYCcSRKB0nsiAq3u5ZNXKO9qISc7tO2hSEj8T5lCYudxF2R8UUhey3qZ31wDn2Bo2AjnOPVHA1aUiLmdppGPXEgs/3m6/V5mQW0q7RpOGejivUSjUPA/h3/y52nqEBT9xJhyDtHjgedUkmzg07YjGjS8wnGq1nW9Mk>and Statement on the Removal of a 'Climate Peace Clause' from Trade and Technology Council Agenda <https://click.actionnetwork.org/ss/c/dSCQfi9FLISmU3ZE3bfPhmrHiqsPGGi-xR6mNf0-kFLctwVXGdm9auLgYie7Ic6sZ8ju6FNkBxw7ybI5QQh1BZFzMYuxbziuXJfaATT1Bpl-euuR8rTxiPqMAJFn84-Oid6QgBR64qIILM0A-ZIf3P-O_0DTMkf8EixcY0UmAYLmadpPloOJDwNlkjoFtrOGqHdmxinyhI3Hi9vEYONF0CcULmTs5LzQ0zLTLpXsAwo72IBhkypyduZUUiykmjHaVZMvSNfqdbTFcr-wasAFVtUgIJtrH7sstoqQYubaymiCQL1GBETsZGxioPWiPK6-tf6Uk2KSA0kNiNGOXKSYXBC6O09eXPhDgHMHfcXE82onO-9mRn8cbD55NUM7tVjlRxoGLaN2FW73jpzNz13i903Tr7nBJDCivXqNbpqylsreBK5BZUA7fMNdCo9KVRQWM5QY6kR6qyPV0fyHkGgs8_d_QDhnanAk-FwrDE21H6c/3m6/V5mQW0q7RpOGejivUSjUPA/h4/UxMMIfOBqTG582o6jV2zMcOmjSv1RgTnroEpUlOlcAs> 
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> To speak with Stamoulis, please contact Mike Stankiewicz at mike at tradejusticeedfund.org <mailto:mike at tradejusticeedfund.org> or (202) 255-7472.
>  
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