Re-shoring, Near-shoring or Friend-Shoring?
Global value chains have already been deeply impacted by the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and are now additionally affected by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. Shortages in raw materials and electronic components, delays at border crossings, increasing transportation costs, limits in the mobility of personnel, and inflation trends have led to major and partly unexpected disruptions of value chains. Now that the volatility of supply chains appears inevitable, the need to regionalise them to enhance their resilience has become a top policy priority. Concepts and principles like “re-shoring”, “back-shoring”, “near-shoring”, and “friend-shoring” are increasingly recurrent among policymakers, the economic environment, and on the public debate over the future of globalization. The Mediterranean region, which lies at a highly strategic crossroad for global trade, could offer significant solutions to rethink value chains, unleash the potential of the region, and promote economic growth and industrial transformation both on the Northern and the Southern shore.
How could the regionalization of value chains in the Mediterranean area alleviate the current economic instability? In what sectors the integration of productive processes could be the most efficient? What are the main tools to reinforce cooperation and fill the gap of lacking infrastructures and connectivity? Which role is for technological innovations and digital transformations? How could the role of the private sector be supported?
