The Business Times
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Nurturing US-Indo-Pacific commerce through digital trade 

Patience and compromise are key to harvesting long-term benefits in the region

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    • US President Joe Biden, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launch event in Tokyo, Japan, May 23, 2022.
    • US President Joe Biden, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launch event in Tokyo, Japan, May 23, 2022. REUTERS

    Hsien-Hsien Lei and Jared Ragland

    Published Mon, May 8, 2023 · 02:26 PM

    TRADE negotiators face an inflection point when they meet this week in Singapore for the next round of talks regarding the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

    While US businesses have remained steadfast in their engagement and investment with the Indo-Pacific, those same businesses are looking to this round of talks for clear signals that the United States will actively support greater trade and economic liberalisation in the future, while minimising the influence of unhelpful and uninformed political rhetoric that suggests the US may be abandoning its traditional role as a champion of trade.

    The IPEF can and must be ambitious. It must deliver near-term positive trade outcomes and establish commitments and policy certainty for US businesses and trading partners alike.

    Indo-Pacific economic framework (IPEF)Digital economy

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