IPEF Negotiating Round Made Progress, Administration Says

The Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the fifth negotiating round for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, held in Malaysia Oct. 15-24, made progress "towards high-standard outcomes" in trade, clean economy and fair economy pillars. "Officials also continued discussions on next steps for the proposed IPEF Supply Chain Agreement (Pillar II) following substantial conclusion of negotiations in May and public release of the text on September 7th," their readout said.

IPEF's trade provisions aren't expected to lower tariffs, but could aid exports through removal of regulatory barriers to agricultural exports or trade facilitation improvements.