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[Delegations from across Asia will converge on Detroit, Michigan later this week to review negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – or IPEF. IPEF is the economic element in Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. And now, the Biden administration is trying to prove its commitment to the region after cancelling a historic visit as VOA’s Jessica Stone reports.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TV IPEG Preview Detroit – Stone (TV, R)
HEADLINE: Delegations from Asia Gather in Detroit to Formulate Pacific Strategy
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 05/23/2023 at 12:15pm
BYLINE: Jessica Stone
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs; MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Agencies,
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV __ RADIO __
TRT: 2:50
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TV/Radio
EDITOR NOTES:))
((ANCHOR INTRO))
[[Delegations from across Asia will converge on Detroit, Michigan later this week to review negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – or IPEF. IPEF is the economic element in Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. And now, the Biden administration is trying to prove its commitment to the region after cancelling a historic visit as VOA’s Jessica Stone reports.]]
((NARRATION))
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says her department needs more resources to deepen economic engagement with the Indo Pacific.
((Gina Raimondo, U.S. Commerce Secretary))
“The president’s budget calls for additional funding for foreign commercial service in the Indo-Pacific -- one of the most dynamic, fastest growing regions in the world economically. We need to be there.”
((NARRATION))
Which is why Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai will host 13 trade ministers from across Asia and the Pacific Islands in Detroit on May 27th. They’ll review progress on the IPEF negotiations. The goal is to create common standards around labor, environment, anti-corruption and the digital economy.
((Gina Raimondo; U.S. Commerce Secretary))
“If we are successful – and I believe we will be - in getting 14 countries to sign on to a supply-chain cooperative agreement, a critical minerals cooperative agreement, an infrastructure agreement, it will bring more U.S. industry, trade, investment to the region.”
((Steven Okun, McLarty Associates))
“The U.S. has not really had a proactive engagement strategy when it comes to economics and trade since Barack Obama left office.”
((NARRATION))
Steven Okun, an international trade consultant based in Singapore says the region wants the United States to deepen its economic engagement across the Indo Pacific – especially after former President Donald Trump – pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade agreement in 2017.
((NAT BIDEN leaving for G7 on Marine One))
((NARRATION))
Now it’s President Joe Biden making a big change. He cut short his trip to the region so he could negotiate with Congressional Republicans over raising the nation’s borrowing limit. Biden scrubbed his meeting with 18 Pacific Island leaders in Papua New Guinea. He would have been the first U.S. president to visit.
((Erin Murphy, Center for Strategic & International Studies))
“When you think about what the U.S. is trying to do, in the Pacific Islands – to show that it’s engaged, economically, militarily, diplomatically and to show that it’s a strategic competitor, to provide things that the Pacific Islands need – I think this is a significant setback.”
((NARRATION))
Erin Murphy is an economics expert at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. She says the mixed signals from Washington will need to be clarified in Detroit.
((Erin Murphy, Center for Strategic & International Studies))
“There are some concerns for IPEF countries. Can the U.S. deliver? What other issues domestically are going to stand in the way for something that is this important?”
((NARRATION))
Okun says the Detroit meeting promises to yield some concrete outcomes for global supply-chain cooperation.
((Steven Okun, McLarty Associates))
“There’s a sense that come Detroit that there will be some announcement on supply chains that will signal momentum and results that they can then go forward from Detroit with an aim towards getting more done by the time U.S. hosts APEC in November.”
((NARRATION))
After Biden’s cancellations in the region, observers say, sustaining that momentum may be more important now -- than ever.
((Jessica Stone, VOA News; Washington.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 23, 2023 12:21 EDT
BylineJessica Stone
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media, Voice of America - English