Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Breakfast

Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo at the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Breakfast
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Thu, 09/08/2022 – 12:35

Export and investment promotion

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Thursday, September 8, 2022

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Gina M. Raimondo

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Los Angeles. And thank you to my colleagues who made the trip across the Pacific. We are thrilled to host you for the first in-person Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Ministerial for all four Pillars.

This Ministerial is an opportunity to have constructive discussions, build rapport among our teams, align our expectations, and plan the path forward.

When our Leaders launched the Framework in Tokyo in May, we committed to building a novel economic arrangement together. Since then, our teams have been engaged in intensive scoping discussions. Here in the United States, we also have engaged with our domestic labor organizations, the business community, Members of Congress, and other key stakeholders to chart the way forward. I know that you have been doing the same as you undertake your domestic processes.

We hear over and over again in the Indo-Pacific region that there is a strong desire for U.S. economic engagement along with a proactive vision and agenda. Our business community is also telling us that they and their employees here in the United States will benefit from restored U.S. economic leadership in the region.

IPEF is at the center of the economic agenda of the Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. And it reflects the President’s commitment to putting workers at the center of our economic and foreign policy while strengthening ties with our allies and partners.

IPEF brings together 14 countries from across the Indo-Pacific region. Together we represent around 40% of world GDP and many of the fastest growing economies.

With this framework, we will address several of our shared challenges related to trade, supply chains, climate change, and good governance to strengthen the competitiveness of our economies and enhance our future economic potential. We will expand our toolkit to help us adapt as our economies undergo significant transformations in the energy and technology sectors.

Together, we are creating a roadmap for cooperation and aligning objectives to meet our economic goals for our workers, our businesses, and our communities. Our success will fuel economic activity and investment across our borders and throughout the region.

I’m very pleased with the progress we have made. Through our collective discussions, we have come to understand each other’s priorities and processes and have laid a strong foundation for fruitful collaboration to come.

This Ministerial marks the next critical phase of this framework—moving from discussions to developing the plan for implementation. We all understand and agree on the need to move quickly to deliver for our people.

The Commerce Department is leading the U.S.’s work on three of IPEF’s four Pillars, and I’m pleased that we’re already determining the areas where we can make the most progress in a short amount of time.

First, on supply chains, the provisions we are considering will improve stability and resilience, especially in our countries that are integral to supply chains for critical products. 

Second, we are making meaningful gains and thinking creatively about how we can accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies and increase connectivity in green goods and services trade.

Finally, Pillar IV, which is focused on the ‘Fair Economy,’ will allow us to increase collaboration and accelerate implementation of anti-corruption and tax commitments to promote international commerce and investment while ensuring high standards and partnerships of trust and transparency.

IPEF’s four pillars will create a fairer, more resilient economy for people here in the U.S. and across the Indo-Pacific region. Our flexible and creative approach to this new economic arrangement will not only help us address current economic challenges, but also prepare us to overcome future obstacles together.

As a group of 14 partners, we have made extraordinary progress in the past few months. However, we have a lot to cover over the next day and a half. I’m glad to be here with you, together, to do this important work. Thank you.

Bureaus and Offices

International Trade Administration

Leadership

Gina M. Raimondo

Tags

Secretary Gina Raimondo
Indo Pacific
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

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