S Korea-IPEF

▲ This file photo, provided by South Korea's trade ministry, shows the ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Detroit on May 27, 2023. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

S Korea-IPEF

New round of IPEF talks to take place in S. Korea next month

SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- A new round of official negotiations for the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will be held in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan next month, the industry ministry said Wednesday.

The fourth round of talks will kick off in Busan on July 9 for a six-day run, as 14 member nations seek to make progress in setting details in three of its four key pillars of trade, clean economy and fair economy, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Last month, the member nations reached an agreement on the pillar of supply chain resilience during the ministerial meeting in Detroit, the first tangible progress since U.S. President Joe Biden launched the initiative in May 2022 in a move to counter China's growing influence in the region.

"South Korea will play a role in expediting the negotiations. We will also support efforts to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan," the ministry said in a release.

The member nations include South Korea, the United States, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and they represent 40 percent of the global gross domestic product and 28 percent of the global goods and services trade, according to government data.

In 2021, trade volume between South Korea and the remaining 13 IPEF member nations reached US$498.4 billion, accounting for 39.6 percent of Seoul's total trade that year.


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