Scoop: Inside Biden's delay on Indo-Pacific trade deal

• Biden unveiled the IPEF as a new approach to trade — not a traditional deal to lower tariffs and boost market access for all countries, but a deal to use common standards on everything from clean energy to digital transactions. The goal is to counter China's influence in the region.

Yes, but: Biden's trade plan is getting fresh pushback from other Democrats, who see it as a potential liability in the 2024 elections.

• Many Democrats, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, are still scarred by how Donald Trump rode his opposition to former President Obama's signature trade deal — the Trans Pacific Partnership — to win the White House in 2016.
• Immediately after he took office, Trump — who called the TPP harmful to American workers and industry — withdrew from the partnership.

Driving the news: Last week, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who's among the most vulnerable Democratic senators seeking re-election in 2024, called Sullivan to voice deep concerns with Biden's plans to announce major progress on the IPEF at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit this week, according to two U.S. officials.

• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) also reached out to the White House to warn the administration about the potentially dicey politics of such a trade deal less than a year before the election.
• "I've made it very clear that the trade portion of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is unacceptable," Brown said in a statement.
• "And I'm glad to hear the administration has decided not to move forward on an agreement that lacks enforceable labor standards," Brown added, referring to a section of the proposed arrangement known as "Pillar I," which focuses on trade.

What we're hearing: After the private Democratic pressure, the White House ordered negotiators in San Francisco to essentially slow-walk conversations over the trade section of the framework.

• That directive left negotiators stunned — and confused — over what they were supposed to do.
• Just two weeks ago, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai was promising major news at the APEC summit. "We are looking to announce a number of deliverables across the pillars of IPEF, which we will be very excited to share with everyone," she said on CNBC.

• On Sunday, U.S. negotiators indicated to their counterparts at APEC that a preliminary agreement on parts of Pillar I — which includes sections on digital trade, labor protections and the environment — would not be achieved.

What they're saying: The White House is insisting that the negotiations haven't been derailed.

• "Throughout the IPEF negotiations, we have focused on promoting workers' rights and raising standards," said a spokesperson for the National Security Council. "We are on track to achieve meaningful progress and lay the foundation for a new framework for regional economic cooperation."
• A spokesperson for Tai declined to comment.

Zoom out: The Biden administration has made it a priority to deepen economic and military ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific as a way to counter Chinese influence across the region.

• In May, Biden announced that 13 countries were joining IPEF and that Tai would lead the U.S. team in negotiating the trade section of the proposal.
• The other three pillars of IPEF would be deals on supply chains, clean energy and anti-corruption standards.
• They are being negotiated by the Commerce Department; Biden officials expect to announce progress on all three at APEC.