3. Each Party intends to promote labor rights in the sectors and activities covered by this Agreement, noting that the effective recognition of the right to organize and collective bargaining is particularly important to enable the attainment of decent work in the clean economy.
4. The Parties intend to cooperate to eliminate forced labor from supply chains and sectors covered by this Agreement, with attention to high-risk sectors. As appropriate, such cooperation may include sharing of best practices on due diligence and supply chain mapping, supply chain management, procurement procedures, traceability from raw materials to finished product, timely remediation of violations, and encouraging the creation or expansion of supply chains in which responsible labor practices can be verified.
Article 21. Social Dialogue for Just Transition
1. The Parties recognize the importance of social dialogue at all levels, from national to enterprise, during the process of just transitions to clean economies with decent work and quality jobs, social protection, and labor rights. Each Party intends to consult representative workers'and employers' organizations on the implementation of this Agreement, as appropriate.
2. Each Party intends to engage in social dialogue with representative workers' and employers' organizations, paying appropriate attention to participation from those involved in or affected by transitions to clean economies and taking into consideration the ILO Guidelines. Each Party intends to promote the use of social dialogue to discuss just transition plans and policies, which may include labor rights in the clean economy, the impacts of climate change, and economic and sectoral transformations.
3. The Parties intend to share best practices identified through dialogue and foster international collaboration and information sharing by, for example, promoting the exchange of views among participants from the Partiesâ respective social dialogues.
4. Each Party intends to provide regular public information on its social dialogue related to just transition.
Section H. Stakeholder Engagement and Institutional Arrangements
Article 22. Society Engagement
Each Party, in developing policies and seeking to achieve the objectives of this Agreement, intends to engage individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as non-governmental organizations, representative workers' organizations, academic and research institutions, enterprises including business organizations and industry associations, MSMEs, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, rural and remote populations, minorities, and local communities.
Article 23. Cooperative Work Programs
1. A group of Parties may develop a cooperative work program to advance the objectives of this Agreement.
2. A cooperative work program referred to in paragraph 1:
(a) shall consist of actions, projects, or activities consistent with and within the scope of this Agreement, including with respect to labor rights and protection of the environment, on which the group of Parties intends to cooperate;
(b) should be designed, as appropriate, to promote input and active participation of Parties, with a view to accelerating transitions to clean economies;
(c) shall be open to participation by any Party or, during the period described in Article 33.4, a State listed in Article 32.1, and, as appropriate, non- governmental entities and other stakeholders;
(d) should, as appropriate, include clear and observable outcomes; and
(e) should be supported by resources provided or mobilized by the participants in the program in accordance with Article 17.
3. A group of Parties proposing a cooperative work program shall provide a written notification to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee containing a description of the program using the Standard Template finalized by the States listed in Article 32.1 in association with the signature of this Agreement, subject to any modification made pursuant to Article 24.5(g).
4. Within 30 days of receipt of a notification pursuant to paragraph 3, any Party may provide written questions or comments regarding the proposed cooperative work program to the group of Parties proposing the program. The group shall provide a written response within 14 days of receipt of those questions or comments. The group shall take this exchange of views into account, make any modification considered appropriate, and provide a written notification to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee indicating any modification made to the program and inviting the other Parties to participate in the program.
5. No later than 14 days after receipt of the notification pursuant to paragraph 4, any Party that considers that the cooperative work program does not meet the criteria set out in paragraph 2 may provide a written objection to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee. Ifno Party provides such an objection, the notified program shall be deemed a cooperative work program for the purposes of this Agreement, and work under the program may then commence.
6. If a Party objects to a cooperative work program pursuant to paragraph 5, the group of Parties proposing the program and the objecting Party shall consult with a view to resolving the objection. If each objecting Party withdraws its objection, the program, as modified in response to the consultations, shall be deemed a cooperative work program for the purposes of this Agreement, and work under the program may then commence.
7. A cooperative work program may be modified by the Parties participating in the program, provided that any such modification is consistent with the criteria set out in this Article and any material modification in the scope of the program is consistent with the procedures set out in paragraphs 2 through 6.
8. A Party participating in a cooperative work program may cease participation upon notifying the other participating Parties and the IPEF Clean Economy Committee.
9. The Parties participating in a cooperative work program shall periodically provide a written report to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee on the progress of the program, any change in the participation in the program, and any decision to terminate the program.
10. The IPEF Regional Hydrogen Initiative is the first cooperative work program for the purposes of this Agreement.
11. Any program that a group of States listed in Article 32.1 has developed prior to the date of entry into force of this Agreement shall be deemed a cooperative work program for the purposes of this Agreement if the States participating in the program have taken steps substantially equivalent to those set out in this Article.
Article 24. IPEF Clean Economy Committee
1. The Parties hereby establish the IPEF Clean Economy Committee composed of a relevant senior official from the central level of government of each Party. (8)
2. Each Party shall notify the other Parties of its designated IPEF Clean Economy Committee representative no later than 30 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party, and thereafter shall notify the Committee of any change in its designated member as soon as practicable.
3. No later than 60 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the IPEF Clean Economy Committee shall, following approval by two-thirds of its members, elect a Chair to serve a two-year term. The Chair shall convene Committee meetings and coordinate Committee activities.
4. No later than 120 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, and following approval by consensus of the members of the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, the Committee shall establish terms of reference, including procedures for its meetings and for decision- making under paragraph 5, as well as procedures and guidelines for the submissions of information described in Article 25.
5. The IPEF Clean Economy Committee shall meet annually in person or virtually, or as otherwise decided by the Committee, and may:
(a) consider any matter relating to the implementation or operation of this Agreement;
(b) consider submissions of information by a Party pursuant to Article 25;
(c) establish, merge, or dissolve working groups, subcommittees, or similar bodies as it determines necessary to advance implementation of this Agreement;
(d) discuss ways to facilitate cooperative activities among Parties in relation to the objectives of this Agreement;
(e) as appropriate, support the development of cooperative work programs for the activities referred to in subparagraph (d) and monitor the implementation and outcomes of such activities, including cooperative work programs;
(f) maintain and make available to the Parties a list of cooperative work programs established under Article 23, including information on the Parties participating, status of implementation, and outcomes;
(g) modify the Standard Template referenced in Article 23.3;
(h) modify its terms of reference; (9) and
(i) exercise any other function relating to the implementation or operation of this Agreement.
Article 25. Information Sharing
1. Each Party should provide regular updates to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee on its implementation of this Agreement, including a description of:
(a) the policies and measures that the Party has adopted, modified, or plans to adopt to support implementation of this Agreement; and
(b) how such policies and measures contribute or are expected to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement.
2. Each Party should submit its initial update to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee no later than 60 days before the first annual meeting of the Committee. Each Party should submit subsequent updates at least biennially or as provided in the Committeeâs terms of reference.
Section I. Final Provisions
Article 26. Relation to other Agreements
Each Party affirms its respective obligations and commitments under relevant existing international agreements.
Article 27. Confidentiality (10)
1. Unless this Agreement expressly provides otherwise, ifa Party provides information in relation to this Agreement to another Party, including through the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, a subsidiary body, or a cooperative work program, and designates the information as confidential, including because the information is confidential business information, any receiving Party shall maintain the confidentiality of the information. If the providing Party determines that information is a matter of public knowledge, the providing Party shall not designate that information as confidential.
2. Unless this Agreement expressly provides otherwise or the Parties decide otherwise, if a Party provides information in relation to this Agreement to another Party, including through the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, a subsidiary body, or a cooperative work program, but does not designate that information as confidential, any receiving Party shall maintain the confidentiality of the information except to the extent disclosure or use of such information is required under that Party's law.
3. Unless this Agreement expressly provides otherwise or the Parties decide otherwise, reports and other materials produced by the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, a subsidiary body, or a cooperative work program shall be designated as confidential and shall not be made public by any Party.
Article 28. Disclosure of Information
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to disclose, furnish, or allow access to information the disclosure of which would be contrary to its law, impede law enforcement, reveal confidential business information, or otherwise be contrary to its public interest.
Article 29. Implementation
This Agreement shall be implemented by each Party within its available resources.
Article 30. Consultations
1. If at any time a Party has concerns with another Party's implementation of a provision of this Agreement, the concerned Party may request consultations through a written notification to the other Party's contact point, and shall set out the reasons for the request, and the other Party shall respond promptly in writing.
2. The concerned Party shall immediately provide a copy of the request to the other Parties' contact points.
3. If the concerned Party's request and the other Party's response do not resolve the concerns that are the subject of the request, consultations shall commence on a mutually decided date no later than 60 days after the date of receipt of the response.
4. The consulting Parties shall attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution as soon as practicable.
Article 31. Contact Points
1. By or as soon as possible after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for a Party, that Party shall designate a contact point or points for any official communications related to this Agreement and shall notify the Depositary in writing of the contact point or points and the means to transmit communications to the contact point or points. Each Party shall notify the Depositary in writing of any change in its contact point or points or means of transmission as soon as practicable.
2. Any communication to a contact point designated pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be deemed effective upon transmittal to that contact point through the means notified to the Depositary or to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, as relevant.
Article 32. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall be open for signature by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, the Republic of Fiji, the Republic of India, the Republic of Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, the United States of America, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
2. This Agreement shall be subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval. Instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval shall be deposited with the Depositary.
3. This Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date on which at least five of the States listed in paragraph 1 have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval with the Depositary. For each State listed in paragraph 1 that deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval with the Depositary after the date of the fifth deposit, this Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date on which that State deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval with the Depositary.
Article 33. Designation of Delegates
1. No later than 30 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, a signatory that has not deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, or approval may, through a written notification to the Depositary, designate a relevant senior official from the central level of government as a delegate to the IPEF Clean Economy Committee, provided that any such delegate is subject to appropriate confidentiality requirements consistent with the requirements set out in Article 27.
2. Each delegate shall be treated as a member of the IPEF Clean Economy Committee for the purposes of taking any relevant action under this Agreement.
3. A signatory that has designated a delegate pursuant to paragraph 1 may choose an appropriate official as its designee to a subsidiary body, provided that the official is subject to appropriate confidentiality requirements consistent with the requirements set out in Article 27. The designee shall be treated as a representative to the subsidiary body for the purposes of taking any relevant action under this Agreement.
4. A signatory's delegates and designees may participate in the IPEF Clean Economy Committee or the subsidiary body to which they have been designated pursuant to this Article until such time as this Agreement has entered into force for that signatory or one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, whichever comes first.
Article 34. Withdrawal
1. A Party may withdraw from this Agreement by providing written notification of withdrawal to the Depositary. A withdrawal shall take effect six months after the date of receipt by the Depositary of the notification of withdrawal, unless the Parties decide on a different period.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Article 27 shall remain in effect with respect to a State or separate customs territory that has withdrawn from this Agreement with respect to any information, report, or other material covered by Article 27 that the State or separate customs territory retains after the withdrawal takes effect.
Article 35. Amendments
1. The Parties may agree, in writing, to amend this Agreement. An amendment shall enter into force 30 days after the date on which all Parties have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, or approval with the Depositary, or on such other date as the Parties may decide.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Parties shall not amend this Agreement until one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement or the date on which this Agreement has entered into force for all States listed in Article 32.1, whichever comes first.
Article 36. Accession
1. Any State or separate customs territory may accede to this Agreement, subject to the consent of the Parties and any terms or conditions that may be decided between the Parties and the State or separate customs territory. This Agreement shall enter into force with respect to an acceding Party 30 days after the date of deposit of its instrument of accession with the Depositary.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, no State or separate customs territory may accede to this Agreement until one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement or after the date on which this Agreement has entered into force for all States listed in Article 32.1, whichever comes first.
Article 37. Depositary
1. The original text of this Agreement, and any amendment thereto, shall be deposited with the United States of America, which is hereby designated as the Depositary of this Agreement.
2. The Depositary shall promptly provide a certified copy of the original text of this Agreement, and any amendment thereto, to all signatories and Parties.
3. The Depositary shall promptly inform all signatories and Parties, and provide the date and a copy, of any notification or instrument deposited pursuant to Articles 31 through 36.
Article 38. General Review
1. Every five years in the anniversary month of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, unless they decide otherwise, the Parties shall commence a general review with a view to updating and enhancing this Agreement in furtherance of its objectives. The Parties should complete the review within six months.
2. Upon completion of the review, if the Parties decide to amend this Agreement, such amendment shall be made in accordance with Article 35.
Conclusion
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done [at Place] on this [ DDth] day of [Month], [Year] in the English language.