NYT: Janet Yellen advocates for the reshaping of trade relationships

Via the New York Times, this news: 

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said on Thursday that global supply chains had proved to be unstable amid the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine and called for a reshaping of trade relationships oriented around “trusted partners,” even if it meant higher costs for businesses and consumers.

Ms. Yellen spoke at a news conference during the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, where policymakers around the world have been discussing how to revive economic growth and combat inflation while keeping pressure on Russia. The Treasury secretary said that protectionism, or taxing imports more, was not the answer, but that the economic benefits of the world’s network of supply chains were not worth the risk of a reliance on adversaries.

“Our supply chains are not secure, and they’re not resilient,” Ms. Yellen said at the Treasury Department. “And I think that’s something, in terms of long-term risk to the U.S. and to other countries, that’s a threat that needs to be addressed.”

Ms. Yellen added that trusted trading blocs would need to be big enough to avoid amplifying inflation while ensuring that supply chains were secure.

I think the likelihood of the world's supply chains being significantly rerouted in the near future is unlikely (especially with government action being the cause), but we shall see...