The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) participated in the second negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Bali, Indonesia, from March 13-19, 2023.
The U.S. interagency delegation was co-led by Sharon H. Yuan, U.S. Department of Commerce Counselor and IPEF Pillars II-IV Chief Negotiator and Sarah Ellerman, IPEF Pillar I Chief Negotiator and Assistant United States Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Acting).
In advance of the negotiations in Bali, USTR shared Pillar I (Trade) negotiating text with IPEF Partners for the following topics: labor, environment, digital trade, and technical assistance. This is in addition to negotiating text that was shared ahead of the Brisbane round for the following chapters: trade facilitation, agriculture, services domestic regulation, and transparency and good regulatory practices. Officials from Australia and New Zealand jointly shared a text proposal on inclusivity.
Moreover, Commerce shared negotiating text for Pillar II (Supply Chains) and Pillar IV (Fair Economy) in advance of the Brisbane round, and for Pillar III (Clean Economy) in advance of the special negotiating round in New Delhi.
In Bali, IPEF Partners exchanged views on the proposed new text and conducted follow-up conversations from the Brisbane and New Delhi rounds as they work to advance a shared vision for an open, connected, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
On the margins of the Bali negotiating round, the U.S. delegation, pillar leads and the Chief Negotiators, held briefings with congressional staff and a diverse range of stakeholders to provide updates on the negotiations.
Collectively, these briefings underscore the Biden-Harris Administration’s strong commitment to transparency and providing the public with greater insight into the negotiations.
IPEF Partners have committed to an aggressive negotiating schedule throughout 2023. The first negotiating round was held in Brisbane, Australia from December 10-15, 2022. Commerce also participated in a special negotiating round in New Delhi, India from February 8-11, 2023. Commerce and USTR will release additional details about the next in-person negotiating round at a later date.
For more information on IPEF, please visit https://www.commerce.gov/ipef.
