Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Deferred
Paragraph: 92
Publish assessments of IPEF's progress and RCEP's role, considering potential UK membership.
Recommendation
The Government should publish, by December 2023, an assessment of progress made to date in the development of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), for example to what extent it might serve UK interests and objectives in the Indo-Pacific and how it interacts with other multilateral initiatives such as the CPTPP and the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. At the same time, the Government should publish an assessment of the role of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in the Indo-Pacific with a view to considering seeking to join it, including an evaluation of its effect on UK interests in the region, an independent estimate of its potential to increase trade and incomes in the Indo-Pacific, and an assessment of its advantages and disadvantages, particularly vis-à-vis the CPTPP. It is our view that to compete with the PRC’s efforts to create mirror or standalone economic organisations, the UK can—but only when it is strictly necessary—play a role through participation, to prevent these organisations overly creating economic reliance on the PRC and its approach to international standards.
Government Response Summary
The Government supports Taiwanese participation in international organizations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is. They are waiting for key parliamentary processes to take place to ratify the deal, so they will not comment on any other economies’ interest in the agreement.
Paragraph Reference:
92
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The Government partially agrees with the Committee. We believe the people of Taiwan have a valuable contribution to make on issues of global concern. The UK therefore supports Taiwanese participation in international organisations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is. This includes support for Taiwan as an observer at the World Health Assembly and participation in relevant WHO technical meetings, as stated in the UK national statement at the 2023 WHA. We welcome CPTPP members’ willingness to expand the CPTPP group. Membership is open to all economies willing and able to meet the high standards of the agreement and with a demonstrated pattern of complying with their trade commitments. The UK’s priority now is the key parliamentary processes needed to take place before the deal can be ratified, so we will not be commenting on the specifics of any other economies’ interest in the agreement.