Ministers at IPEF Meeting Discuss Bolstering Int'l Supply Chains

Washington/Tokyo, Dec. 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan, the United States, Australia and 11 other countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity discussed strengthening international supply chains, at an online ministerial meeting on Tuesday, Japan time.    According to a statement by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who hosted the meeting, the participants "reaffirmed their collective commitment to pursue an inclusive high-standard economic agreement that will enhance the economic competitiveness of all of the IPEF partners' economies."    Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who attended the meeting from Japan together with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, said at a press conference, "We hope to accelerate talks with the goal of creating a framework that allows high-standard rules and tangible benefits to coexist."    The 14 IPEF countries are aiming to set common rules in the four areas of trade, supply chains, fair economy, and tax and anticorruption, with hopes to reduce their economic dependence on China.    Tuesday's session came after the first meeting of the IPEF nations' top negotiators held last week in the Australian city of Brisbane.    A meeting of IPEF negotiators will be held in India, an IPEF member, on Feb. 8-11 next year, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday.    Participants are expected to mainly discuss bolstering international supply chains of semiconductors and critical minerals, aiming to reach a certain agreement within 2023.    According to a statement released Tuesday, Piyush Goyal, commerce and industry minister of India, urged members at the ministerial meeting to "focus energy on early harvest of deliverables which can benefit all the members." END