Is the U.S. ready to meaningfully engage with the Asia-Pacific region? Their latest offering comes in the form of the IPEF, and the differences between the U.S.-led trade pact and competing ones led by Asian powers will show whether American leadership has brought enough to the table.

The IPEF - a U.S.-initiated trade and development partnership - is poised to bring in enthusiastic participation from several nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Notably, Southeast Asian states are well represented among members, giving the U.S. considerable influence right in China’s backyard.

Six factors suggest that the IPEF will not succeed: meager benefits for developing economies, new and unpopular commitments, disproportionate benefits for the U.S., vague negotiating plans, uncertainty of the framework’s survival under a new American administration and skepticism by U.S. allies.

The Biden administration is prioritizing its foreign policy strategy in Asia by extensive outreach and alliances in the region. Strategic partnerships with other countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific , are crucial for the U.S. to keep up with China’s growth in the region.

U.S. President Joe Biden formally launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework in June, but the initiative falls short of providing an actual trade agreement. In order for the IPEF to work long term, the Biden administration must include interlocking development initiatives that are multilateral and backed by public-private partnership agreements.

The IPEF attempts to placate those who oppose free trade in the Indo-Pacific region while also constraining China. But China is the biggest trading partner for most IPEF countries, so the attempt to encircle China on trade is tantamount to encircling its own members.

Heightened U.S. military deployments on the Korean Peninsula will only exacerbate the regional security dilemma that affects China, Russia and the DPRK. Meanwhile, exclusivity between the United States and ROK in some trade sectors will be hard to pull off.

Thirteen countries in the Indo-Pacific region have joined the initiative, which indicates interest. But there are problems with the framework as presented that raise questions about its ability to succeed and endure.

There was nothing new revealed in the U.S. president’s visit, other than launching Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Roping in Japan and South Korea and declaring that the U.S. would “intervene” in a Taiwan conflict, all amounted to old news.

As President Biden attends his first in-person meetings in Asia, who he’s visiting and their respective agendas can inform our observations on what the U.S. strategy will be in dealing with China’s neighbors.