Washington in touch with Dhaka on newly launched IPEF

The United States has said they look forward to continuing to exchange views with Bangladesh on the newly launched Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

"Bangladesh is an important regional partner of the United States," acting US Embassy Spokesperson Bryan Schiller told media on Monday.

Schiller said they have been in contact with Bangladesh about the IPEF since the Partnership Dialogue in March and at regular intervals in Dhaka and Washington. 

The US seeks to address the 21st century economic challenges, including the digital economy, clean energy transition, and supply chain resiliency.

US President Joe Biden on Monday launched a new trade deal with 12 Indo-Pacific nations aimed at strengthening their economies as he warned Americans worried about high inflation that it was "going to be a haul" before they feel relief, reports AP.

The president said he does not believe an economic recession is inevitable in the US.

Biden, speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, acknowledged the US economy has "problems" but said they were "less consequential than the rest of the world has."

The comments came just before Biden's launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a new trade deal his administration designed to signal US dedication to the contested economic sphere and to address the need for stability in commerce after disruptions caused by the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nations joining the US in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework are Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Along with the United States, they represent 40% of world GDP.

The countries said in a joint statement that the pact will help them collectively "prepare our economies for the future" following disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.