With political tensions increasingly impacting global trade relationships — in particular between China and the US — the term ‘friendshoring’ has entered the vernacular, representing the realignment of trade networks along geopolitical lines.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) last month noted a significant rise in the political proximity of trade since the second half of 2022, suggesting a shift in bilateral trade preferences toward countries with similar geopolitical stances, leading to a concentration of global trade within major trade relationships.
