METI Minister Nishimura Attends Ministerial Meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)

From November 13 to 16, 2023, the meetings related to the IPEF were held in San Francisco, the United States. These meetings were hosted by H.E. Mr. Joe Biden, President, H.E. Dr. Katherine Tai, Trade Representative, and H.E. Dr. Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, of the United States, and brought together representatives of all 14 IPEF partner countries. As representatives of Japan, Mr. Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister, Mr. Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Ms. Kamikawa Yoko, Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended.
At these meetings, negotiations concerning the fields of Clean Economies and Fair Economies were substantially concluded. In addition, negotiations concerning the field of Trade made substantial progress, including the details involving Inclusivity and Trade Facilitation.

The main remarks made by Minister Nishimura were as follows:

• The substantial progress made in a short period of time in negotiations concerning the field of Trade showed to the world our commitment to the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region, and we achieved a good result concerning Trade Facilitation and other issues. Japan would like to continue to hold discussions on the Digital Economy and other elements as well.
• Japan welcomes the IPEF’s reaching of the substantial conclusion of negotiations concerning the fields of Clean Economies and Fair Economies. For Clean Economies in particular, range of pathways that take into consideration the situations in the respective countries are necessary, and the organic deployment of cooperation activities in accordance with their interests is considered important. Japan would like the IPEF to overcome this challenge by taking advantage of innovation and cooperation among IPEF partners to realize carbon neutrality.
• The Government of Japan has pledged to provide approximately 10 million dollars (1.4 billion yen) to the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund to be newly launched as an effort to encourage the transition to clean economies. It also would like to provide a support measure through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), thereby expanding investment in the IPEF region with public-private collaboration.

Moreover, all 14 partner countries signed the Supply Chain Agreement, whose negotiations were substantially concluded in terms of the details in May 2023.

Related Links

• The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)
• Leaders’ Statement on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity
• Press Statement on INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK for Prosperity Meetings in San Francisco

Division in Charge

Economic Partnership Division, Trade Policy Bureau