Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced further progress in operationalizing the landmark Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience (Supply Chain Agreement) with the conclusion of the inaugural virtual meetings of the three supply chain bodies established under the Agreement – the Supply Chain Council, the Crisis Response Network, and the Labor Rights Advisory Board.

These meetings mark a monumental step in realizing the partners’ collective goals under the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, which aims to facilitate closer cooperation among the 14 IPEF partners – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam – to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of critical supply chains and better prepare for and respond to supply chain disruptions that pose a risk to economic prosperity while strengthening labor rights and raising up workers across the region. These latest actions build on the continued progress on IPEF made last month in Singapore, where U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and participating IPEF partners signed the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, IPEF Fair Economy Agreement, and overarching Agreement on IPEF.

“The economic impact of COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in our supply chains that caused a ripple effect across the country and around the world. To safeguard our supply chains from future global disruptions – whether it be a pandemic or natural disaster – we knew we needed to act swiftly and decisively,” said Secretary Gina Raimondo. “Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, we established IPEF, and barely two-years later, are quickly working together with our partners to ensure we’re prepared to mitigate the impact of crises, while building a stronger, more prosperous economy for American workers, consumers, and businesses.”

Pursuant to the Supply Chain Agreement, the IPEF partners established three supply chain bodies – a Supply Chain Council to pursue targeted, action-oriented work to strengthen the supply chains for those sectors and goods most critical to national security, public health, and economic well-being; a Crisis Response Network to provide a forum for collective emergency response to exigent or imminent disruptions; and a Labor Rights Advisory Board that brings together workers, employers, and governments at the same table to strengthen labor rights and workforce development across regional supply chains.

The Supply Chain Council and Crisis Response Network are comprised of senior governments officials, while the Labor Rights Advisory Board includes senior government officials and representatives from the worker and employer organizations credentialed at the most recent International Labor Conference, from each of the 14 IPEF partners.

For the United States, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis Grant Harris will serve on the Supply Chain Council and the Crisis Response Network.  Deputy Undersecretary of Labor for International Affairs Thea Lee will serve on the Labor Rights Advisory Board, along with Eric Gottwald of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and Ewa Staworzynska of the United States Council for International Business.

During the meetings, each of the three supply chain bodies elected a Chair and Vice Chair, which will serve for a term of two years. For the Supply Chain Council, the Council members elected the United States as Chair and India as Vice Chair. For the Crisis Response Network, the Network members elected the Republic of Korea as Chair and Japan as Vice Chair. For the Labor Rights Advisory Board, the United States was elected to serve as Chair and Fiji as the Vice Chair.

During its meeting, the Supply Chain Council also adopted a Terms of Reference to guide its operations going forward and discussed priorities for initial work, with the goal of continuing those discussions at its first in-person meeting to be held in Washington, D.C. in September on the margins of a Commerce-led Supply Chain Summit.

The Crisis Response Network discussed near- and longer-term priorities, including conducting a tabletop exercise, along with its first in-person meeting, which will be held on the margins of the Commerce-led Supply Chain Summit.

“The U.S. Department of Commerce has made supply chain resilience a top priority, including through the establishment of our Supply Chain Center. Through collaboration under the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, we can support economic growth and lower costs for American families by strengthening supply chain resilience and reducing risks and structural vulnerabilities,” said Assistant Secretary Harris.

The Labor Rights Advisory Board discussed priorities on strengthening labor rights across IPEF supply chains, including plans to convene in-person for further discussions in Bangkok, Thailand from August 26-28. The convening not only will advance the work of the Labor Rights Advisory Board, but also focus on the labor provisions in the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement and Fair Economy Agreement.

“The Labor Rights Advisory Board will be a valuable tool to protect labor rights, prevent disruptions to our supply chains, and create an investment environment that leads to long term, sustainable growth in the Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Department of Labor Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs and LRAB Chair Thea Lee. “The United States welcomes the tripartite structure of the LRAB and looks forward to working closely with the members of the board to achieve this high road model through the Supply Chain Agreement.”

About IPEF

In May 2022, President Biden launched IPEF, bringing together 14 regional partners – Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam – in a new model of economic cooperation. IPEF negotiations began in late 2022. In May 2023, the IPEF partners announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for a first-of-its-kind IPEF Supply Chain Agreement. In November 2023, the IPEF partners announced the substantial conclusion of the negotiations on the proposed IPEF Clean Economy and Fair Economy Agreements, as well as on a proposed overarching Agreement on IPEF to help ensure the durability of the framework, and held a signing ceremony for the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement, which entered into force on February 24, 2024.

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