The Department of Commerce, along with its 14 partner nations under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity Agreement, convened their inaugural meeting this week. This virtual gathering signifies one of the initial formal actions to bolster supply chains along Pacific Ocean trade routes. The Supply Chain Council, the Crisis Response Network, and the Labor Rights Advisory Board, all established under the agreement, met to elect their respective chairs and vice chairs.
The IPEF Member Countries and Their Goals
The meeting on July 30 assembled leaders from the 14 IPEF member countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the U.S., and Vietnam.
This meeting built upon the momentum from a June gathering in Singapore, where Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other IPEF leaders signed three agreements, including the Clean Economy Agreement, Fair Economy Agreement, and the Agreement on IPEF.
The IPEF trade agreement, which came into effect in February, aims to enhance data sharing, encourage warehousing near ports, identify and mitigate logistical bottlenecks and supply chain disruptions, and share best policy practices.
The leaders are set to convene for the first time in-person next month in Washington, D.C., marking a new chapter in the pursuit of supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific region.
