Introduction
As Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Negotiations Begin, Is IPEF the Biden Administration’s Foreign Policy, Trade Policy, Or What?
Most coverage of the Biden administration’s trade policy has focused on the China trade debate or on trade disputes. Recent coverage of Biden foreign policy has centered on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s threats against Taiwan. But there’s an important hidden policy debate happening over the nature of America’s approach to Asia and also to trade, centered on something called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF. Because of vague and still undefined goals, and a closed-door policymaking process, there hasn’t been much public debate or news coverage. But the stakes are high.
With this document, we hope to answer basic questions about what the IPEF is, why it matters, and the state of the policy debate.