Business Standard

India's observer status raises questions about its IPEF plans

A former Indian commerce secretary, under condition of anonymity, said India might have consciously decided to participate as an observer since it might not be ready for this agreement right now

Photo: Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
Premium

Photo: Twitter account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand

Asit Ranjan Mishra New Delhi
India participated only as observer in the just-concluded Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) chaired by US Trade Representative (USTR) Catherine Tai. Experts believe India may not be ready yet to fully commit itself to the ongoing discussions to finalise the contours of a trade deal among the 14 IPEF members, led by the US. 

New Delhi was represented by Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Commerce Rachna Shah as observer at the first virtual meeting of IPEF trade ministers on July 26.

While a joint statement was expected from the meeting, USTR only released a read-out after the meeting. 

“The ministers

What you get on BS Premium?

  • Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
  • Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
  • Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
  • Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
  • Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
VIEW ALL FAQs

Need More Information - write to us at assist@bsmail.in