Australia: Launch of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Negotiations

On 9 September 2022, negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) were officially launched. The IPEF is a modern regional arrangement to build cooperation and economic integration in the Indo-Pacific. It includes thirteen countries: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam. The IPEF negotiations include several areas, including digital trade. In particular, the parties intend to advance inclusive digital trade by promoting trusted and secure cross-border data flows and establishing standards for data transfer and data localisation, among others.