Through this initiative, the IPEF partners aim to contribute to cooperation capability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region. Moreover, it is aiming towards advancing resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the economies.

The IPEF broadly rests on four pillars: trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy and decarbonization, and taxes and anti-corruption measures.

IPEF is designed to be flexible, meaning that IPEF partners are not required to join all four pillars.

Through Trade Pillar negotiations, the United States seeks to build high-standard, inclusive, free, and fair-trade commitments and to develop new, creative, and economically meaningful approaches to trade policy in the Indo-Pacific region.

IPEF is likely to work towards advancing the trade policy goals of resilience, sustainability, and inclusivity by negotiating commitments in the following areas: labor, environment, digital economy, agriculture, transparency and good regulatory practices, competition policy, trade facilitation, inclusivity, and technical and economic cooperation.

India agreed with the conclusion and text on three of the four pillars which were - supply chains, tax and anti-corruption, and clean energy and joined the declaration. But, India decided to stay away from the Trade Pillar.

India pulled out of the IPEF’s trade pillar-related negotiations in September last year, citing it was unclear what benefits member countries, including India, would derive from the negotiations. As a result, India decided to wait for the final contours and chose to be an observer.

But, India, with just being an observer, has not been able to access the negotiation rounds regarding the trade pillar that kickstarted. 

There have been a lot of discussions about whether India should join the Trade pillar now and participate in negotiations or contemplate joining it later when negotiations are concluded and accept what will be offered.