IPEF SUPPLY CHAIN AGREEMENT: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES FOR BANGLADESH

This paper provides a detailed analytical discussion of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework of Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement and its potential impacts on Bangladesh. Drawing on the Complex Interdependence Theory and Structural Realism, it speculates on the opportunities, issues, and strategic ambiguities that Bangladesh must encounter in the dilemma on whether to join this US-led economic initiative. It can be seen that as much as IPEF has higher potential to diversify the supply chain and provide capacity building for Bangladesh, it also entails challenges in the form of institutional  capacity, compliance costs and geopolitical risks specifically with regard to Bangladesh and its important economic relationship with China. The paper argues that the risks of non-engagement, including structural alienation from the evolving regional economic architecture, outweigh the risks of participation. The paper proposes a policy of selective engagement that can enable Bangladesh to enjoy the benefits of IPEF while maintaining strategic autonomy and relations with the United States as well as China.