In May 2022, the United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, with a dozen initial Partners across the Indo-Pacific. IPEF is part of the Biden Administration's commitment to strengthening ties with allies and partners and tackling 21st-century economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Framework seeks to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for the 14 IPEF economies. The Framework also will provide tangible benefits that fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region. 

Since its launch, the IPEF Partners have engaged in intensive discussions to scope out each of the four pillars of the Framework, covering Trade; Supply Chains; Clean Economy; and Fair Economy respectively.

At the conclusion of the Senior Officials and Ministerial meetings last September, the Partners reached consensus on ministerial statements summarizing objectives for each pillar. Text-based negotiations for each of the four IPEF pillars commenced with the first negotiating round in Brisbane in December and have continued since. The IPEF Partners have agreed to an aggressive negotiating schedule for 2023 in order to make substantial progress this year.

The Partners

The United States is proud to work with 13 diverse partner countries representing 40 percent of global GDP and 28 percent of global goods and services trade.

The Partners include:

• Australia;
• Brunei Darussalam;
• Fiji;
• India;
• Indonesia;
• Japan;
• the Republic of Korea;
• Malaysia;
• New Zealand;
• Philippines;
• Singapore;
• Thailand; and
• Vietnam.

The United States has deep and expanding economic ties with these Partners: U.S. foreign direct investment in the region totaled more than $969 billion in 2020 and has nearly doubled in the last decade. Trade with the Indo-Pacific supports more than three million American jobs and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment into the United States. Deepening our economic engagement in the region will boost prosperity at home and abroad, creating more jobs and raising standards across the region.

Timeline

October 2021: President Biden announces intent to develop an Indo-Pacific framework

On October 27, 2021, President Biden declared the United States' intention to develop an Indo-Pacific economic framework to define shared objectives in the region around trade facilitation, digital economy standards supply chain resiliency, clean energy, labor rights, and other areas of mutual interest.

⇒ View the Readout of President Biden’s Participation in the East Asia Summit

March 2022: IPEF comments solicited

From March 10 to April 11, 2022, the Department of Commerce and the USTR solicited public comments regarding the proposed framework. Together, Commerce and USTR received over 1,300 public comments on the four IPEF pillars.

⇒ View the public comments submitted to the Department of Commerce.

May 2022: IPEF launch, Tokyo

On May 23, 2022, President Biden, along with ministers and heads of government from a dozen initial Partners, officially launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity. View the launch event below:

⇒ Read the initial launch statement of IPEF goals here.

September 2022: First in-person ministerial meeting, Los Angeles

On September 8 and 9, 2022, the United States hosted the first in-person meeting of the IPEF ministers in Los Angeles, led by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The meeting successfully produced a set of ministerial statements outlining negotiating objectives for each pillar.

⇒ Read the Commerce announcement of negotiating objectives from the meeting here.

December 2022: First negotiating round, Brisbane

From December 10-15, 2022, the United States met with all IPEF Partners for the first full IPEF negotiating round in Brisbane, Australia. The round saw the introduction of initial text for all four pillars and widespread enthusiasm among the Partners for the negotiation of an ambitious, sustainable, and durable agreement.

In advance of the round, USTR and the Department of Commerce co-hosted a stakeholder listening session to receive input from a variety of perspectives including labor, industry groups, and civil society. An additional in-person listening session was hosted during the round in Brisbane with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

⇒ Read the joint USTR/Commerce readout of the negotiating round here.

February 2023: Special negotiating round, New Delhi

From February 8-11, 2023, the United States met with all IPEF Partners for a special negotiating round hosted in New Delhi, India. The special round covered Pillars II-IV, involving approximately 300 officials, and produced substantive, text-based negotiations on all three pillars.

In advance of the round, the Department of Commerce hosted a virtual stakeholder listening session. They also co-hosted an in-person stakeholder listening session in New Delhi with the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry A diverse array of presenters, including labor, industry groups, and civil society provided feedback.

⇒ Read the Commerce readout of the negotiating round here.

March 2023: Second negotiating round, Bali

From March 13-19, 2023, the United States met with all IPEF Partners for the second full negotiating round in Bali, Indonesia.  The round involved productive, text-based discussions of all four pillars.

The Department of Commerce and USTR jointly hosted another stakeholder listening session in advance of the round. An additional in-person stakeholder listening session was held during the round, co-hosted by the Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs.

⇒ Read the joint USTR/Commerce readout of the negotiating round here.

May 2023: Third negotiating round, Singapore

From March 8-15, 2023, the United States met with all IPEF Partners for the third full negotiating round in Singapore. The IPEF Partners continued to make productive progress on text-based discussions of all four pillars.

The Department of Commerce and USTR jointly hosted another stakeholder listening session in advance of the round. An additional in-person stakeholder listening session was held during the round, co-hosted by the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry.

⇒ Read the joint USTR/Commerce press release announcing the round here.