India should not agree to take binding commitments

New Delhi India should not agree to take binding commitments on free cross-border data flows under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a 14-member grouping, as the move would lock its policy space, think tank GTRI said on Thursday. The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo. The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 per cent of global GDP and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade. The framework is structured around four pillars relating to trade, supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy (issues like tax and anti-corruption). India has joined all the pillars except the trade one. “India has not joined the IPEF trade pillar which includes taking onerous commitments on digital trade. India should never agree to binding commitments on free cross-border data flows as it will lock in the future,” Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said.