Biden promises a better economic relationship with Asia, but he's specifically avoiding a trade deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nurturing economic ties this week with Asia, but he's not signing any trade deals at a regional summit in San Francisco.

“It's a framework because the administration wanted to have something it could do by executive agreement,” said Robert Holleyman, a former deputy U.S. trade representative.

Many U.S. voters have negative opinions about trade deals that they see as having caused industrial job loss, a prevailing sentiment in the 2016 presidential election that carries over to the upcoming 2024 race. IPEF can partially fill that gap by sidestepping some of the domestic politics while also addressing issues such as supply chains and climate change that have historically been outside trade deals. Here's a breakdown of the framework and the progress being announced at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting.