President Biden launches new trade deal with Indo-Pacific nations

(KYMA, KECY/ NBC News) - President Biden launched a new trade deal with twelve Indo-Pacific nations Monday morning, aimed at strengthening their economies.

The nations joining the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific economic framework are Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Phillipines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In a joint statement, the countries said that the pact will help them collectively prepare their economies for the future, following interruptions by the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"We're writing the new rules for the 21st Century economy," said President Biden. "We're gonna help all of our countries economies grow faster and fair. We'll do that by taking on some of the most acute challenges that dragged down growth and by maximizing the potential of our strongest growth engines."

According to the White House, the framework will help the United States and Asian economies work more closely on issues such as supply chains, digital trade, clean energy, worker protections and anti-corruption efforts.