WASHINGTON -- The U.S. could launch its new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework as early as May, a key trade official said Wednesday, as Washington seeks stronger trade and supply chain ties with Japan and Southeast Asia to counter China's economic influence in the region.
"We are hopeful that in the next month or so we should be in a position ... to potentially launch" the IPEF, said Pamela Phan, deputy assistant secretary for Asia in the U.S. Commerce Department, at a two-day conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
