IPEF member states agree to establish 'critical mineral dialogue'

President Yoon Suk Yeol at the APEC summit in San Francisco on Thursday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol and other leaders of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) agreed to establish a “critical mineral dialogue” in establishing a stable supply network of essential minerals among member countries.

The leaders’ joint statement released after the meeting said the dialogue will “foster closer collaboration on strengthening IPEF critical mineral supply chains and boosting regional economic competitiveness.”

Yoon was among the leaders of 14 countries who attended the IPEF summit, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, on Thursday in San Francisco.

This is the second summit held among the leaders of the 14 member states since the comprehensive economic cooperative body launched in May 2022, led by Biden.

According to the joint statement, the member countries, for the first time, signed a supply chain agreement whose goal is to prevent and respond to supply chain disruption.

So far, among the four pillars, three have been signed, including the Clean Economy Agreement, which aims to expand cooperation on the transition to clean economies, and the Fair Economy Agreement, which aims to combat corruption and improve the efficiency of tax administration.

“Through these and new initiatives, we will continue to strengthen our regional cooperation and shared commitments to address emerging issues, drive innovation, and boost flows of commerce, trade, and investment across our markets,” the statement read.

According to the Korean presidential office, the agreement to facilitate $150 billion of new investment in clean energy by 2030 would serve as a huge business opportunity for Korean businesses.

The office added that the agreement to prevent illegal activities in government procurement and improve the intra-regional business environment will benefit Korean businesses.

The leaders at the meeting also agreed to hold a summit once every two years and a minister-level meeting every year.

The member countries include Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Fiji.

The IPEF nations account for 40 percent of the global GDP and 28 percent of the world’s commodities, services and trade.

The IPEF, however, is not a multilateral free trade agreement.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]