The United States, Canada, and the Indo-Pacific Negotiations

The Biden administration’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific is of twofold interest. On the one hand, it breaks with the approach that the United States has always advocated since the 1980s, namely the general opening of markets through free trade agreements. And on the other hand, the economy, more than trade, is at the center of the negotiations, with security, technology, and the resilience of value chains as the main issues. Is this a turning point? After placing the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in its historical context, the author makes seven observations about it, to conclude that the initiative currently raises more questions than it provides answers to the United States economic security.