Representatives of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) traveled to Indonesia last week for the second round of negotiations in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the DOC reported Sunday.

DOC Counselor and IPEF Pillars II-IV Chief Negotiator Sharon Yuan and Sarah Ellerman, IPEF Pillar I Chief Negotiator and acting assistant USTR for Southeast Asia and the Pacific lead the interagency delegation in the negotiations, held March 13-19 in Bali, Indonesia, the news release reports. 

The first round of negotiations were held in Brisbane, Australia in December 2022, according to the release, and the DOC took part in "a special negotiating round" in New Delhi, India, in February.

Before the negotiations began, USTR shared negotiating text with IPEF partners on a number of topics, such as labor, environment, digital trade and technical assistance, according to the release. The DOC shared negotiating texts for pillars including trade facility, agriculture, good regulatory practices, transparency and domestic regulation. 

"In Bali," the DOC states in the release, "IPEF Partners exchanged views on the proposed new text and conducted follow-up conversations from the Brisbane and New Delhi rounds as they work to advance a shared vision for an open, connected, prosperous and resilient Indo-Pacific region."

The U.S. delegation, along with pillar leads and chief negotiators, provided updates on the Bali negotiations to congressional staff and other stakeholders as the talks took place, in keeping with the Biden administration's "strong commitment to transparency and providing the public with greater insight into the negotiations," the release states.

The release states that IPEF partners "have committed to an aggressive negotiating schedule throughout 2023," and information on the next in-person round of IPEF negotiations will be announced by DO and USTR at a later date.