Tai Talks IRA, China Trade, IPEF in Meetings With Chinese, Japanese, Korean Counterparts
In a series of meetings on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai defended the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as talked about how implementation of it could be shaped. She pitched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as a way to address "current challenges" and realize new economic opportunities. And Tai talked about trade with China, both directly with her Chinese counterpart, and with Japan, where, the readout of her meeting with the Japanese trade minister said, Japan is prioritizing "tackling shared challenges posed by non-market economic policies and practices," which is another way of saying responding to Chinese overcapacity and subsidies.
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Japan and South Korea did not issue their own readouts of the meeting; however, the South Korean trade ministry posted a picture of a meeting with the Swedish ambassador a few days earlier, and the caption said they met "to discuss joint measures in response to U.S.’ Inflation Reduction Act."
With South Korean Trade Minister Ahn Dukgeun, Tai said they both want to address supply chain challenges and climate change -- goals of the IRA -- and that they want to strengthen the bilateral relationship. "Ambassador Tai acknowledged Korea’s concerns with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and they reviewed the technical-level discussions within the ongoing engagement channel as the Treasury Department continues to develop guidance and implement all aspects of the law."
The U.S. readout of Tai's meeting with Japan's trade minister Nishimura Yasutoshi said they both expressed "support for an ambitious [IPEF] negotiating schedule going forward, with a focus on inclusivity and strong outcomes for all IPEF member countries."
She said she talked about how Japan can work to fight forced labor in global supply chains, and asked about the status of the U.S.-Japan beef safeguard agreement. She also pitched "the economic and environmental benefits of increased ethanol use."
With regard to the electric vehicle tax credits in the IRA, "Ambassador Tai noted the importance of taking meaningful action to combat the climate crisis by investing in clean energy technologies and addressing supply chain vulnerabilities."
Tai met Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao for the first time, and both countries put out brief, vague readouts. The U.S. readout said that Tai talked about the U.S. vision for APEC and discussed bilateral trade with her counterpart. The Chinese readout used Tai's Chinese name, "Dai Qi," and said "the two sides conducted candid, professional and constructive exchanges on Sino-U.S. economic and trade issues and multilateral and regional economic and trade issues of common concern."