US treasury secretary visits India; advocates for “friendshoring”

U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen & Indian FM Nirmala Sitharaman have called for the strengthening of supply chains with trusted trading partners in the Indo-Pacific region.

Photo Source: PIB

New Delhi, November 14: At the 9th meeting of the India-US Economic and Financial Partnership, U.S Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that India’s membership in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will make supply chains resilient through “friendshoring”.

The U.S Treasury Secretary has been promoting the western concept of “friendshoring”, which means running the supply chain of critical components only through a select group of American allies.  The idea is yet to be implemented.

The term “friendshoring” was coined by Ms. Yellen in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war that broke out earlier this year. In May 2022, the European Union proposed an embargo on Russian in a way to punish Moscow for its Ukraine invasion.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Ms. Janet Yellen added that the United States is okay with India buying Russian oil even beyond the G7-imposed price cap mechanism as long as it avoids Western insurance, finance, and maritime services that are subject to the cap.

Last week, the U.S Treasury Secretary Ms. Yellen held a meeting with India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman here in New Delhi. In a joint statement they said, “This ninth meeting of the Economic and Financial Partnership reflected the growing importance of the U.S.-India relationship and the increasing economic and financial ties between our two economies.  Both sides eagerly anticipate continued dialogue under the Economic and Financial Partnership and the further strengthening of our bilateral relationship.”