A report released Wednesday from members representing the seven largest advanced economies in the world suggests political leaders must collaborate on policies to achieve their top priorities if they want to safeguard their countries against future economic shocks.

The G7 Panel on Economic Resilience recommended leaders focus on seven areas that includes strengthening supply chains – a critical weakness that the pandemic has undoubtedly exposed - while addressing other challenges of the mid-21st century such as access to critical minerals and cyber threats.

“You can’t have global resilience by letting market forces unleash completely,” said Carolyn Wilkins, the Canadian representative on the panel that compiled the extensive report and former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada.

“Certainly there are great things with market forces but you need good labour standards, you need to think about the climate, you need to think about social aspects of the economy to support economic resilience and get the outcomes we say we value, like good health and a good environment,” she said.

Industries around the world from automakers to food processors to clothing manufacturing have grappled with supply chain issues following the COVID-19 pandemic with some companies fearing they won’t have inventory adequately stocked in time for the crucial holiday shopping season.

The report comes on the same day U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the supply chain crisis at the White House. Biden pledged to bolster domestic manufacturing so more goods would be made in the U.S.

However, the G7 report urges tighter integration and collaboration among countries.

“What we should aspire to is more resilient supply chains but we recognize it’s just not practical or possible for any given country to be independent in all areas of critical supply chains. Just because of where some of the basic inputs come from and the timelines it takes to tool up to be able to produce,” Wilkins said.

“That being said, there’s a huge amount the G7 can do to get together to collaborate and reinforce sharing aspects of supply chains.”

 

Here’s a list of the panel’s recommendations for G7 leaders:

  1. Global health – ensuring vaccine equity and prioritizing public health
  2. Climate change and environment – accelerating market circulatory, funding green tech and preventing greenwashing
  3. Digital governance – stronger action on cyber threats and reducing harmful digital monopolies
  4. The global trading system – strengthening trade rules
  5. Investment-focused recovery – incentivizing investment and implementing minimum tax rates
  6. Labour standards and participation – measure progress on labour, particularly for women and minorities
  7. Supply chains and critical market fragilities – coordinate on essential goods in crises and develop contingency plans