Decoupling, Deglobalisation and Democracy
On Tuesday 27 July, the Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) met via a video conference co-hosted by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. IPEF was launched by President Biden in May 2022 with four wide-ranging aims: fair and resilient trade; supply chain resilience; infrastructure and clean energy; and tax and corruption cooperation. IPEF has 14 member nations: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. The US says that it openly invites other nations to join.
IPEF has made China angry, not least because it says it has not been invited to join. IPEF is “the US selfishly using member countries as vassals” the state mouthpiece The Global Times wrote on 26 July. He Weiwen, an executive council member of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, told The Global Times, “it has become increasingly apparent that the IPEF has nothing to do with the economy, but is purely a geopolitical strategy to contain China but is dressed up as an economic framework…The US’ IPEF aims to engage countries in the region to marginalize China in economic fields. But Washington will be disappointed because any economic framework in the Asia-Pacific without China won’t work.”
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| Decarbonising Container Shipping
The second annual survey on decarbonisation in container shipping has been running in July and August. The results will be available at www.ship.energy and www.shippingstrategy.com – keep an eye out and thank you to everyone who responded. |
| Fundamentals of ESG for Shipping
Our one day course is available as an in-person event or online. It covers the major relevant regulations and laws, best practice and latest developments in environmental, social and governance from an investor and a corporate practicioner angle. Ask for your brochure here. |
