- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as markets rally
- Shanghai stocks gain after stimulus briefing as Asian markets rally
- Nearly 90, but opera legend Kabaivanska is still calling tune
- With inflation down, ECB eyes faster tempo of rate cuts
- Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate
- Ex-Stasi officer faces verdict over 1974 Berlin border killing
- Role of government, poverty research tipped for economics Nobel
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
US trade chief seeks more resilient supply chains
Global supply chains need to be redesigned, with a greater focus on raising standards and building resilience for the sake of economic security, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Thursday.
"Fragile supply chains and an unsustainable version of globalization" call for reform, and such challenges will have a bearing on trade policy, Tai said in a speech at the National Press Club.
President Joe Biden's administration has sought to move away from traditional trade deals. By focusing on efficiency and low costs, Tai added, those deals allowed significant content to come from countries that were not parties to the agreements.
This benefited "free riders, who have not signed up to any of the other obligations in the agreement, such as labor and environmental standards," Tais said.
She believes such practices bring advantages to countries that used "unfair competition to become production hubs."
"That is how the supply chain rules in these (Free Trade Agreements) tend to reinforce existing supply chains that are fragile and make us vulnerable," said Tai.
She also added that with a focus on efficiency and low cost, production moves outside America and becomes "increasingly consolidated in one economy," like China, which "manipulates cost structures" and controls key industries.
While the expectation was for a gradual rise in labor standards and environmental protection as countries gained wealth from more trade flows, there were no guardrails to ensure this. The system, Tai said, incentivized countries to compete by keeping lower standards.
In new trade engagements such as in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework discussions, US officials are looking to focus more on workers, the environment and small businesses, she said, looking to standards that improve with time.
A redesign of supply chains means production can more easily bounce back from crises and disruptions, according to Tai.
"But getting there requires a fundamental shift. A shift in the way we incentivize decisions about what, where, and how we produce goods and supply services," she added.
"That shift, in trade as in antitrust, moves away from a narrow focus on benefits for consumers."
A.Mykhailo--CPN