International trade has been a powerful driver of increased incomes and living standards around the world. However, our global trading system has been under growing pressure in recent years. Barriers to trade are on the rise. Shocks such as the COVID-19 Pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have demonstrated the far-reaching impact of supply chain disruptions. New risks and uncertainty have emerged in the wake of geopolitical tensions, growing supply concentration, and instances of economic coercion.
Policy makers have a range of tools available to identify and manage supply chain risks. These tools will need to be balanced to ensure they do not unduly compromise the benefits of global trade for competition, innovation, productivity, efficiency and ultimately growth. Indeed, well-functioning, competitive and diversified global markets can be a key contributor to economic resilience.
The 2023 OECD Ministerial Council Statement welcomed the approval of an OECD strategy to promote open markets and a rules-based international trading system in good working order. Building resilient supply chains is a key pillar of that strategy. In 2024, Ministers at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting affirmed their commitment to enhancing cooperation on economic resilience and economic security by reducing vulnerabilities, welcomed OECD work that contributes to building fact-based awareness on supply chain resilience, and agreed to continue monitoring trade interdependencies to maintain competitive markets for critical supply chains through work led by the OECD Trade Committee.
Guided by these priorities, the OECD’s Trade Committee has shaped and overseen a programme of work on resilient supply chains. The OECD has developed unique evidence-based research and analysis, complemented by a series of expert discussions and multi-stakeholder dialogues, including with the participation and support of Business at the OECD (BIAC) and the OECD Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC). This work has drawn from country experience, and identified new approaches to anticipating and monitoring shocks, analysing and mitigating impacts, and cooperating across the public and private sectors.
This OECD Supply Chain Resilience Review brings together the OECD’s work in this area. It highlights the importance of a balanced approach to mitigating supply chain risks without undermining the upside benefits that come with expanding international trade. Going forward, the OECD will continue to foster dialogue and provide objective, evidence-based analysis in support of open markets and a rules-based international trading system in good working order.
Mathias CORMANN
Secretary-General