IPEF falters on taking its first step with India's exit

That India has said it will temporarily withdraw from the trade negotiations under the framework of the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework For Prosperity", on the grounds that it can see no benefits in being part of it, undoubtedly deals a heavy blow to the United States as Washington regards the country as an indispensable partner in its efforts to contain China.

With India pulling out of the IPEF immediately after the US hosted the first in-person ministerial meeting on it in Los Angeles last week, it is fair to say that the IPEF has stumbled on its first step, even if India's move might be simply a negotiation tactic of New Delhi, since this has been a common ruse it has employed in recent years.

To the dismay of its host, instead of uniting the 13 participants, the conference has only served to convince them, as New Delhi's decision indicates, that the framework is nothing but a geopolitical tool of the US to advance its interests in the Asia-Pacific rather than a platform leading to multilateral trade deals.