The third round of negotiations of IPEF were held in Singapore
On May 23, 2022, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) was launched by 14 countries, including the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The countries have all commit-ted to collaborate on closer economic integration in innovative ways, which extends beyond just trade. The 14 IPEF partners encompass over half of the world’s population as well as account for 40 percent of global GDP and 28 per-cent of global goods and services trade.
The IPEF aims to advance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness for the countries’ economies. Through this initiative, the partners seek to contribute to cooperation, stability, pros-perity, development, and peace within the region. This will offer tangible ben-efits that fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and in-clusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the re-gions.
It is important to note that the IPEF is not a free trade agreement, and it does not specify any market access or tariff reductions. However, some experts be-lieve that it can serve as a foundation for future trade agreements.
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