Japan welcomes new US Indo-Pacific economic initiative

TOKYO (AP) — Japan welcomes a new U.S. economic initiative for the Indo-Pacific that President Joe Biden is expected to roll out during a visit to Tokyo next week because it demonstrates American commitment to a regional economic order that is not just about market access, an official said Friday.

Biden is proposing the new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership which the United States dropped out of in 2017 under former President Donald Trump. Japan played a key role in bringing together the other 11 members of that pact, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

While details of the new initiative are still to be discussed in Tokyo, Japan has already expressed its support and says it is considering joining.

Noriyuki Shikata, Cabinet secretary for public affairs, said the IPEF is expected to focus more on supply chains and economic security than on issues in traditional trade agreements such as market access and tariffs.

“My understanding is that IPEF and TPP are different,” Shikata said at a news conference in Tokyo.

“Japan still wishes to see the U.S. come back to the TPP, and the reason we say so is because TPP and IPEF are different,” he said. “We are hoping this IPEF will lead to ... a more proactive engagement of the United States in the Indo-Pacific economic order."

The U.S. government has been trying to engage more with countries in the region. The framework, which was only announced Tuesday, is still in its early stages and further details are unclear.

Shikata said it was not known if IPEF will be discussed during the Quad summit, a four-nation regional security framework Tokyo is hosting Tuesday, when leaders from Australia and India will join Japan and the...