Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles was on Four-day official visit to San Francisco,United States (U.S) from November 13-16, 2023. His visit includes various official engagements of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Key Highlights:
i.He participated in the 3rd in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting from November13-14, 2023.
ii.Union Minister Piyush Goyal represented India at the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) – IPEF Investor Forum meeting on November16, 2023.
iii.Piyush Goyal, Union Minister also represented India at the APEC Economic Leadership Engagements from 15-16 November, 2023. India has been invited to the 30th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting 2023 as a Guest Economy.
iv.During the visit, The Commerce and Industry Minister had bilateral meetings with his U.S. counterpart Gina Raimando and addressed the key areas like: trade barriers, promote investments and fostering greater cooperation in areas such as technology and innovation.
v.He co-chaired “India-USA Innovation Handshake Initiative” which aims to promote further innovation and job growth, particularly in emerging technologies.
vi.The Commerce and Industry Minister also participated in the investor roundtable along with one-to-one meetings with CEOs. He visited Tesla Factory Unit Fremont and interacted with senior executives of Tesla Group.
vii.During his visit, he simultaneously held bilateral meetings with his counterparts of countries such as The U.S., Republic of Korea and Singapore. He discussed potential collaboration under the IPEF, to enhance bilateral trade and commerce, matters related to WTO (World Trade Organization) and other issues of mutual interest.
MoU on “Enhancing Innovation through an Innovation”
The MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between India and The U.S. during the roundtable titled “Decoding the “Innovation Handshake :U.S.-India Entrepreneurship Partnership” in San Francisco ,U.S.
- The event is co-hosted by the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and startup India, CEOs from major ICT companies.
Objective:
i.To connects the two sides’ dynamic startup ecosystems.
ii.Address specific regulatory hurdles to cooperation.
iii.Share information and best practices for startup fund raising.
iv.Promote innovation and job growth, particularly in critical and emerging technologies (CET) under India-The U.S. initiative for critical and emerging technology.
Significance:
- The two countries collaboration work towards to boost the economy, attract investments, and create jobs, especially in startups focusing on Critical Emerging Technologies (CET).
- Both countries plan to organize joint events, like hackathons and Open Innovation Programs.
- There will be two events taking place in early 2024, one in India and the other in the U.S featuring an investment forum and a Silicon Valley hackathon.
Background:
5th India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue(CD) was held on 10th March, 2023 during the visit of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.The event witnessed the relaunch of CD with strategic focus on supply chain resiliency, climate and clean technology cooperation, advancing inclusive digital economy and facilitating post-pandemic economic recovery especially for SMEs and startups.
- It included launch of a new Working Group on Talent, Innovation and Inclusive Growth (TIIG) under the Commercial Dialogue
- About Commercial Dialogue: It is a Ministerial-level discussions between India and the U.S. to enhance the ties between business communities. The includes government-to-government meetings alongside private entities to boost trade and increase the investment opportunities across various economic sectors.
IPEF Supply Chain Agreement signed by 14 IPEF Partner Countries
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal participated in the 3rd in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting on 14th November, 2023 in San Francisco,California in U.S.The event was hosted by U.S.
- During the meeting, the first-of its-kind IPEF Supply Chain resilience agreement was signed by the minister along with ministers from 14 other IPEF partner countries. The agreement aims to make IPEF supply chains more resilient, robust and well integrated, and contribute towards economic development and progress of the region as a whole.
Four Pillars of IPEF:
The framework is structured around four pillars. India had joined Pillars II to IV of IPEF while it has an observer status in Pillar-I.
i.PillarI (Trade): Aims to promote economic growth, peace and prosperity in the region.
iiPillarII (Supply Chain):Aims to make supply chain more resilient, robust and well integrated through crisis response measures.
iii.PillarIII (Clean Economy): Aiming to boost cooperation in research development, availability, accessibility and deployment of clean energy and climate friendly technologies.
- Facilitate investment towards climate-related projects in the region.
- Reduce global anthropogenic methane emissions by 2030.
iv.PillarIV (Fair Economy):
- Aims to strengthen implementation of effective anti-corruption and tax measures.
- Adopt measures enabling the identification, tracing, freezing and seizure in criminal or civil proceedings consistent with United Nation Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
Key Points of U.S. and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF):
- At the meeting negotiations under the IPEF PillarIII (Clean Energy), PillarIV (Fair Economy) and the agreement on the IPEF which seeks to establish ministerial council and a commission were concluded.
- Under the Clean Economy (Pillar-III), IPEF partners are aiming to advance cooperation on research, development, commercialization, availability, accessibility, and deployment of clean energy and climate friendly technologies, and facilitate investment towards climate-related projects in the region.
- Piyush Goyal under the PillarIII (Clean Energy) emphasized cooperative work programmes including hydrogen supply chain initiatives and other proposals like biofuels and e-waste recycling.
- Under the Fair Economy (Pillar-IV), IPEF partners aim to strengthen implementation of effective anti-corruption and tax measures to boost commerce, trade, and investment among IPEF economies.
About IPEF:
IPEF was launched jointly by the U.S. and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May23, 2022 in Tokyo (Japan). Its main aim is to strengthen economic engagement among partner countries with objective of advancing growth, peace and prosperity in the region.
Member Countries: It has 14 partner countries including: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and U.S.A.
30th APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Leaders Summit 2023
The U.S. hosted the 30th APEC Leaders Summit which held in San Francisco. Apart from 21-member countries of APEC, India attended the summit as Guest Economy. Piyush Goyal. Minister of Commerce and Industry represented India at the summit.
- Theme APEC Summit 2023: “Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All”.
The U.S. hosted the APEC Summit 3rd time since its formation. Earlier, The U.S. hosted the APEC Summit in 1993 and 2011.
Key Highlights of the APEC Leaders Summit:
- The Key highlight of the summit is adoption of Golden Gate declaration – It underscores the commitment to creating a resilient and sustainable future for all member countries.
- During the Summit, member countries reaffirmed their commitment to free, fair, and open trade and investment, and to advancing inclusive and sustainable growth in the region.
- APEC leaders endorsed the APEC Action Agenda on Climate Change and Energy Security.
- Along with India, Fiji and Colombia were also invited to attend the 30th APEC Leaders Summit 2023.
- At Present, Joe Biden (President, The U.S.) is the chairperson of APEC.
- Peru will host the 31st APEC Summit 2024.
Participants:-
APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), as well as representatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Bank.
About APEC (Asia –Pacific Economic Cooperation)
It is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. The 1st APEC meeting held in Canberra, Australia in November, 1989.
Aim: To create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.
Members: It include countries like: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong-Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei(Taiwan), Thailand, Vietnam, and United States of America.
Significance of APEC:
- It is one of the oldest and most influential multilateral platforms in Asia-Pacific region.
- Its treaties are non-binding on it all member countries.
- APEC accounts for approximately 62% of World GDP and 48% of World Trade in 2021.
Secretariat of APEC:
- APEC permanent secretariat is located in Singapore.
- Executive Director – Rebecca Fatima Santa Maria
About: U.S.A (United States of America)
President: Joe Biden
Capital: Washington D.C.
Currency: U.S. Dollar
About: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Union Minister – Piyush Goyal(Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra)
MoS(Minister of State) – Anupriya Patel, Som Prakash
