The next round of talks and the second IPEF PTM are expected to take place in November 2023.
"Technical assistance and economic cooperation are very important for realizing the implementation of the high standard commitment desired by IPEF," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said at the IPEF Ministerial-Level Meeting (PTM), according to an official statement released in Jakarta on Friday.
During the IPEF ministerial meeting, which was held digitally, the government and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) discussed the growth of various negotiating clusters in Pillar I, specifically trade, as well as preparing the agenda for 2024.
The United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai, presided over the meeting, which was attended by all 13 IPEF partner countries with the exception of India, which was not a participant in Pillar I.
Hartarto informed that after recording significant progress in various IPEF clusters, Indonesia emphasized flexibility in negotiations and the realization of tangible benefits from Pillar I.
"IPEF countries generally support cluster completion in November 2023. IPEF member countries promote technical assistance programs, investor conferences, upscaling skills, networking, and capacity building as real benefits that can be accomplished quickly," he said.
During the meeting, Ambassador Tai expressed her gratitude to partner countries for their contribution to the numerous advancements made in IPEF since the program's inception in May 2022 and up until the present day.
The completion of multiple clusters within Pillar I of the IPEF is one of the goals that the United States hopes to achieve by November 2023.
After the meeting, Ambassador Tai thanked Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia for hosting the IPEF negotiations and expressed the hope that future negotiations will focus on resolving the remaining clusters and adopting new forms of collaboration.
The United States has said it hopes that, during the next round of IPEF negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, all IPEF partner countries will take constructive and realistic actions to accommodate all existing interests.
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Translator: Bayu S, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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