South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement, a U.S.-led initiative involving 14 member nations, took effect on April 17. Trade minister Cheong In-kyo convened the first “New Trade Round Table” meeting of the year to discuss strategies for leveraging the agreement to strengthen supply chain resilience.

The meeting brought together industry associations, academia and research institutions to explore potential joint projects with IPEF members. It focused on diversifying import sources for critical materials such as elements, graphite, and rare earth permanent magnets and improving R&D and logistics.