Trade chief attends IPEF meeting in Paris

Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun attended a non-official ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) in Paris on Saturday and discussed regional trade issues, his ministry said.

Ahn took part in the discussions led by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, as ministers from 12 of the 14 IPEF member nations gathered in the French capital.

IPEF was launched by U.S. President Joe Biden last month and covers four key areas — fair trade, supply chain resilience, infrastructure and green technology, and tax and anti-corruption.

“Together with the creation of advanced trade rules, we need to strengthen cooperation projects so that all member nations can evenly share in the benefits of IPEF,” Ahn was quoted as saying, citing large gaps in development among Indo-Pacific nations.

Ahn proposed establishing standards for new digital technologies, citing as key tasks cooperation in digital infrastructure, small firms’ increased participation in digital trade and projects to strengthen digital capabilities.

Source: Yonhap News Agency