Yellen: US and its allies cannot allow China to dominate technologies and raw materials

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will call on Tuesday for deeper trade ties between the allies to strengthen their supply chains, fight inflation and prevent “unfair trade practices” and China’s efforts to dominate key markets raw materials and technologies.

Yellen will make the remarks in a policy speech in Seoul after touring LG facilities on the first leg of her 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region.

“We cannot allow countries like China to use their market position in key raw materials, technology or products to disrupt our economy and exert unwanted geopolitical leverage,” Yellen is set to say, according to excerpts of her speech published by the Ministry of Finance.

Instead, the US and allied countries such as South Korea should focus on supporting friends or diversifying supply chains to rely more on reliable trading partners, strengthening economic resilience and reducing risks, the Finance Minister will say in her speech. of the USA.

He is expected to emphasize that in doing so, he will maintain the momentum and productivity growth that comes with economic integration, while helping to protect citizens in the US and South Korea from price increases caused by geopolitical risks. .

Western powers have been scrambling to end their reliance on China as a key supplier since the start of the pandemic, which has exposed the vulnerability of supply chains and exposed gaps in domestic capabilities in key sectors.

Yellen will say the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine have made clear the need to address supply chain vulnerabilities to reduce shortages that have driven prices higher around the world.