Don’t Blame Supply Chains
The author is a faculty member at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia
Global supply chains—technically dubbed global value chains (GVCs)—have become weaponized in the economic battles of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The target: China, the West’s favorite scapegoat in a self-serving blame game. Japan has set aside some 243 billion yen ($2.2 billion) of its record 108-trillion-yen ($1-trillion) rescue package to assist companies in pulling operations out of China. Larry Kudlow, top economic adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, has hinted at providing similar relocation support for U.S. companies.
The goal is three-fold: Punish China for “causing” the coronavirus, eliminate a source of vulnerability in production lines of critical equipment, and bring back home (reshore)
