US, Japan agree to engage with partners in Indo-Pacific, support their economic development

Washington DC [US], November 15 : The US, and Japan have agreed to continue engaging with partners in the Indo-Pacific to help them identify, and reduce economic vulnerabilities to support their economic development, resilience, and prosperity.
The two countries plan to remain vigilant and intend to continue to assess the potential impacts of export restrictions on critical minerals which could significantly affect the production of solar panels, semiconductors, and other essential inputs for electric vehicles, computers, and smart devices, read a joint statement by the Japan-US Economic Policy Consultative Committee.
The joint statement was released by the US and Japanese governments on the occasion of the second ministerial meeting of the Japan-US Economic Policy Consultative Committee.
The meeting was attended by Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa; Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura; United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken; and United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
They convened in San Francisco on Tuesday for the second ministerial meeting of the Japan-US Economic Policy Consultative Committee (EPCC).
US, and Japan, in the joint statement, stated that as Indo-Pacific nations, "we have a shared responsibility to advance peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. As the region stands vulnerable to economic coercion and non-market policies and practices, it is critical to enhance resilience by building trusted supply chains and promoting open markets and fair competition".
The two countries said there is a need to encourage the region to uphold meaningful labour, social, and environmental protections that attract high-quality investment and downstream buyers.
"We also need to encourage regional actors to enhance economic integration with trusted partners. We welcome the significant progress made this year to deepen regional economic cooperation through IPEF and look forward to continuing to work closely with our Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) partners to enhance our economic competitiveness in the region and globally," the joint statement read.
During the second ministerial meeting of the Japan-US Economic Policy Consultative Committee, the two sides agreed to work together to formulate transparent, resilient, and sustainable supply chain strategies that promote reliable and trustworthy sources for strategic goods and advance environmental protections.
"Through such efforts, we aim to promote a level playing field and counter non-market policies and practices," the joint statement read.
The countries reiterated that measures affecting the free trade of food and agricultural products should be based on scientific principles and substantiated by scientific evidence and that restrictions on the imports of Japanese food products should be immediately rescinded.
"We reaffirm our satisfaction with Japan's plans to discharge Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water, in light of findings by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international experts that Japan's plans are safe, science-based, and transparent," the joint statement added.
Both countries acknowledged the reported monitoring results after each discharge to date, showing that the concentration of nuclides including tritium in seawater and marine products is far below internationally recognised standards.