WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th December, 2022) The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partners' meeting in Australia on Saturday for the first negotiating round on trade-related matters will pose a tangible opportunity to reach consensus on several key items, a senior Biden administration official said during a conference call.
President Joe Biden launched IPEF earlier this year with 13 regional partners, including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Fiji and the Philippines.
"This is just a really good opportunity to continue the momentum from Los Angeles and focus on areas where we believe there will be some real consensus particularly in areas of trade facilitation, agriculture and good regulatory practices," the official said.
In September, the United States hosted the first in-person IPEF ministerial in Los Angeles, California, where the parties had productive talks on shared goals that focus on trade, supply chains, "clean" economy and anti-corruption, the official said.
US trade officials have been working very closely with the Biden administration and Congress to finalize negotiating points for each of the four pillars agreed to by the IPEF parties, the official said.
The IPEF partners have already received an advance copy of the US negotiating points prior to Saturday's meeting, the official said.
The IPEF partners have said they expect a very active and ambitious agenda next year with additional negotiating meetings on many critical issues, the official said.
The Biden administration believes it has the statutory authority to address many of the critical trade issues outlined in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, it should not require any need for congressional legislation, the official added.
