Envision supply chains like a strand of Christmas lights. If one light goes out, then the whole strand will stop working. Rather, every single light needs to be functioning. On a global scale, this means that it does not necessarily matter what the U.S. is doing or what China is doing independently to alleviate the supply chain disruptions if these changes are made in silos.

When we talk about a supply chain breakdown, we have to understand that it was a series of

exogenous shocks that basically laid waste to adjust in-time supply chain. And given that

is background, we are healing from that, but it takes probably a year in order for those normal supply chain

disruptions to heal.

Welcome to Living Beyond Borders, a podcast from City Private Bank and G0 Media.

On this program, we examine global risks and opportunities from the angle of both politics

and economics. I'm Shari Friedman, managing director of climate and sustainability at

Eurasia Group. Last fall, during a press briefing at the White House, then press secretary Jen Psiaki

was asked about a growing supply chain crisis.

It was crystal clear that things were not improving on supply chain.

People couldn't get dishwashers and furniture and treadmills delivered on time, not to mention all sorts of other things.

So why is it?

The tragedy of the short, the treadmill that's delayed.

Of course, as we know, the problem became much bigger than treadmills and furniture shipments.

Shipping log jams, labor shortages, and skyrocketing prices have been an ongoing reality

through the pandemic.

And since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the situation has become even more dire,

with problems going far beyond waiting for a month for a new car, to severe cases of food shortages

and exploding inflation. Much of the last several decades have been all about finding efficiencies and cost savings

through the longer and longer supply chains.

That's led to a situation where something as simple as a table might circulate the globe a few times

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