India has decided to join three pillars of the United States-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)--supply chains, tax and anti corruption and clean energy–while opting out of the trade pillar for now.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who was in Los Angeles to attend the first official in-person IPEF ministerial on September 8-9, said that decision was taken because so far, under the trade track, broader consensus had not emerged on certain issues such as environment, labour and public procurement.
“On one pillar which deals primarily with trade, the contours of the framework, particularly any commitments required on environment,