Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was talk in Western countries about supply-chain vulnerability and the need for reshoring, as it’s called. The issue arose not only in Canada, but in the United States – especially when Donald Trump was president – and in European countries.
It was therefore interesting to read recently about some former Canadian politicians and several key industry associations launching an advocacy group called Reshoring Canada, formed to promote the return of critical manufacturing to Canada and rebuilding supply chains in this country.
The group styles itself as non-partisan and a “repository and advocate of ideas” aimed at promoting reshoring by educating the business sector, rather than calling for government regulation or legislative measures to reach its goals. That’s what is most noteworthy about this initiative.
One problem with governments ordering supply-chain localization through legislative measures is that they could run up against the World Trade Organization agreement and its strictures forbidding discriminatory measures that favour domestic suppliers over foreign providers of goods or services...
This was excerpted from a 19 april 2021 Globe and Mail opinion piece by Lawrence L. Herman.