U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States should work to shift its reliance on key input supplies away from some rival countries as global supply chain gridlock hurts the domestic economy.
“During the pandemic, we saw that our supply chains were very fragile and really inflexible,” she said Monday.
Yellen reiterated her support for so-called friend support, saying “countries that support shared values in international trade and the global economy should trade and benefit from trade so that we have multiple sources of supply rather than relying on excessive sourcing of key commodities from countries where we have geopolitical problems.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States should work to shift its reliance on key input supplies away from some rival countries as global supply chain gridlock hurts the domestic economy.
“During the pandemic, we saw that our supply chains were very fragile and really inflexible,” she said Monday.
Yellen reiterated her support for so-called friend support, saying “countries that support shared values in international trade and the global economy should trade and benefit from trade so that we have multiple sources of supply rather than relying on excessive sourcing of key commodities from countries where we have geopolitical problems.”
Yellen said she doesn’t advocate that the U.S. make everything itself, saying “it could go in a very protectionist and expensive direction.
Supply chain problems have fueled accelerating consumer price growth. prices rose 8.6 percent in May from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 40 years, and fears of a recession have increased as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to curb inflation.
Freeland said Canada is a potential source of some of the products that some countries have been getting from China and Russia for years.
“What we can really contribute to in a world supported by our friends are key metals, minerals and energy,” she said.
The United States already imports many minerals from Canada, including cobalt, nickel, aluminum and graphite. Freeland noted that her government has allocated C$3.8 billion ($3 billion) in its federal budget to implement a new critical minerals strategy over eight years.
Post time: Jun-22-2022