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America must expand its friendship group in the interests of trade
Restricting supply chains to trusted countries is fraught with danger
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“Friend-shoring”, a buzzword launched by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen a year ago, is sparking rising angst.
PHOTO: AFP
Gillian Tett
Almost exactly a year ago, just before the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) spring meeting, Dr Janet Yellen, United States Treasury Secretary, launched a new buzzword: “friend-shoring”.
The idea was that in a world of rising US-China tensions (and Western hostility to Russia), American companies should move their “supply chains to a large number of trusted countries” – or friends. It initially sounded almost cuddly. After all, who can object to celebrating friendship, particularly if aggressive isolationism is the other option?
