Janet Yellen touts 'friend-shoring' as fix for global supply chain

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on “trusted” US allies to strengthen trade relationships to shore up global supply chains disrupted by Covid, worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine and threatened longer term by a reliance on China. In her longest public address during a three-stop tour of East Asia, Yellen touted her “friend-shoring” concept as a way to reduce the vulnerabilities of a supply system badly strained over the past two years, and as a mechanism for reducing inflation in the US and elsewhere.

“Friend-shoring is about deepening relationships and diversifying our supply chains with a greater number of trusted partners to lower risks for our economy and theirs,” Yellen said, in a speech delivered at a research-and-development facility in Seoul run by conglomerate LG.  “In so doing, we can help to insulate both American and Korean households from the price increases and disruptions caused by geopolitical and economic risks.”