A fishing raft with a resting shed floats on the shores of Baseco in Tondo Manila on July 09, 2021. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The Philippines on Friday joined other countries in the Indo Pacific region in a push to prevent supply chain disruptions, promote green energy, and combat corruption, Malacañang said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attended the 2nd Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Leaders’ Meeting in San Francisco, United States which sought to work on rules-based trade, strengthen collaboration on clean economies, and boost efficiency of tax administration.
Based on a statement by IPEF leaders, they said their respective ministers have signed a "first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Agreement, and substantially concluded the negotiations on a groundbreaking Clean Economy Agreement and an innovative Fair Economy Agreement."
"Our ongoing cooperation through these agreements will promote workers’ rights, increase our capacity to prevent and respond to supply chain disruptions, strengthen our collaboration on the transition to clean economies, and combat corruption and improve the efficiency of tax administration,” the statement read.
“Thirteen of us have made progress on and continue to work towards a mutually beneficial Trade Pillar outcome that advances workers’ rights through strong and enforceable labor standards; improves economic opportunities for families, ranchers and farmers, and micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises; and promotes fair, open, and rules-based trade, accompanied by technical assistance and economic cooperation, benefiting all segments of society,” it added.
These measures will help boost regional cooperation in addressing problems, strengthen commerce and trade flows, as well as investments, the IPEF leaders said.
Leaders will also launch the IPEF Critical Minerals Dialogue for better collaboration and strengthen critical mineral supply chains.
This will likewise boost regional economic competitiveness, based on the Palace release.
"IPEF... will also explore additional initiatives to advance cooperation and dialogue on areas of mutual interest, such as energy security and technology, as they emphasize the importance of deepening people-to-people ties and intend to promote IPEF networks to share ideas and expertise," the release read.
"The leaders also recognized that mobilizing high-standard public and private financing, including concessional financing at an increased scale as appropriate, will facilitate investments in their supply chain resilience and clean economy transitions," it added.
Philippines is part of the IPEF, which was launched by the United States last year.
Australia, Brunei Darussalam, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Fiji and Vietnam are also members.
IPEF partners, the Palace said, account for 40 percent of the global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.
Malacañang said the Manila and Washington next year will co-host the March 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum. This will "further establish the Philippines as a key hub for regional supply chains and high-quality investment."
In September, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states signed an agreement to facilitate trade customs clearance, according to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The deal sought to "provide a predictable and transparent trading environment" among the member states.
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