During his visit to Japan in May 2022, US President Biden announced a new international cooperative policy called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF. With fourteen nations joining from the start, IPEF seeks to bring about sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the region through digitalization, bolstering resilience, decarbonization and environmental protection, and business practices that are fair, transparent, and rules-based. Matthew P Goodman, Vice President of Economics with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington joins Japan Up Close to discuss the goals of IPEF, the challenges it faces as a new and relatively untested international partnership, and Japan's potential to play a unique and important role as a bridge between the US and the rest of the Indo-Pacific region.