Yellen says US allies must not allow China to dominate raw materials, technologies, and thwart ‘unfair trade practices’
- Yellen made the comments on Tuesday in a major policy speech in Seoul during the final leg of her 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific
- Western nations have tried to end reliance on China as a supplier since the start of the pandemic, which exposed the frailty of global supply chains
She made the comments in a major policy speech in Seoul after touring the facilities of South Korean tech heavyweight LG Corp during the final leg of her 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region.
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According to the excerpts of her comments, Yellen said doing so would sustain the dynamism and productivity growth that comes with economic integration, while helping to insulate citizens in the United States and South Korea from price increases caused by geopolitical risks.
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Friend-shoring offered the United States and its allies a way to preserve the best features of the rules-based global order, while addressing unfair Chinese trade practices and ensuring access to vital inputs and products – from medicine to semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries, she will say.
In her comments Yellen highlighted a series of investments that LG has recently made to expand the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries in the United States.
She said the key to the new approach on trade required countries to properly account for and factor in the costs of overly concentrated supply chains, geopolitical concerns and value – rather than “overly focusing on costs”.