LMC 2024: Let Us Not Despair, But Act

De-Risking our Economies – Is It Too Late and Too Risky?

In the era of global interdependence and growing geoeconomic rivalry, control of supply chains and flows of resources can be used for political leverage and as a tool of economic coercion. The West has become extremely vulnerable to the weaponization of economic dependencies. The quest for economic security has led to calls to reduce critical dependencies and vulnerabilities by de-risking and diversifying supply chains and repatriating production where appropriate. This also means the recalibration of industrial and trade policy in strategic sectors. What are the opportunities and risks of reducing existing dependencies? How could this affect Western competitiveness on global markets?