Measuring the Impact of U.S. Friend-Shoring and Near-Shoring Strategies on Global Production Networks
摘要
Against the backdrop of accelerating restructuring of global industrial and supply chains, the United States has pursued friend-shoring and near-shoring strategies to reduce its dependence on China. Economies such as Southeast Asia and Mexico have become primary destinations for industrial relocation from China, potentially undermining China’s influence, profitability, and risk resilience within global value chains. This study uses intermediate goods trade data from a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) database to construct a global production network model. Real networks (null models) and synthetic networks (counterfactual models) reflecting the backbone of global value chains are extracted from different perspectives. Two types of network-wide metrics and two types of centrality metrics are used to assess evolving trends in global production networks and potential effects of U.S. trade policies toward China on network restructuring and industrial relocation risks. The findings indicate that the U.S. friend-shoring strategy (“Altasia”) and near-shoring strategy (“USMCA”) would lead to partial decoupling of global industrial and supply chains. Moreover, friend-shoring exacerbates economic deglobalization and heightens the risk of industrial relocation from China. Finally, amid the U.S. “de-risking” policy toward Chinese supply chains, this paper proposes recommendations focusing on enhancing supply chain resilience, deepening regional cooperation, optimizing industrial structure, improving risk early-warning mechanisms, and engaging in global rule-making.