Jakarta. Indonesia has pledged to conclude the trade talks of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiations next year as the bloc failed to come to an agreement in its San Francisco meeting.

The IPEF is a US-led economic initiative aimed at bolstering cooperation across four pillars: trade, supply chains, clean economy, and fair economy. Member countries have been negotiating agreements across the aforementioned pillars with the supply chain section being the first to finish in May. 

Earlier this week, ministers from 14 IPEF nations -- including Indonesia and Japan-- gathered in San Francisco to finish the remaining homework. Members substantially completed the clean and fair economy sections, while also signing an agreement on the supply chain pillar. However, the negotiators failed to get the trade section done.

Speaking in the presence of IPEF country leaders, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo gave his word that Indonesia would work towards reaching the trade agreement in 2024.

“Indonesia is committed to concluding the negotiations of the first [IPEF] pillar [of trade] in 2024, and also implement the joint agreement,” President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said in San Francisco on Thursday local time.

According to Jokowi, IPEF’s success highly depends on how the signatories can mutually benefit from one another. 

“Indonesia is always open to partnering with anyone based on mutually beneficial principles. The principles have become the reason why Indonesia is taking part in IPEF negotiations. Mutually understanding one another’s national interests --particularly the interests of developing economies-- are key to good cooperation,” Jokowi said.

US President Joe Biden launched the IPEF last year. Partners include Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. They represent 40 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and 28 percent of global goods and services trade. 

Japanese public media organization NHK World-Japan reported Tuesday that IPEF countries could not reach an agreement on the trade pillar because the attending ministers could not narrow their differences over regulating data circulation. They were also divided on banning imports of goods produced with forced labor.

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