The Covid-19 pandemic has made many governments take a critical look at their economies’ dependence on globalised supply chains. The UK government is undertaking a “ Project Defend” to examine how to diversify its trading relationships and reduce reliance on China. In the EU, similar concerns are guiding the bloc’s package of post-pandemic recovery spending.

These moves are natural. The scramble for essential medical equipment ranging from face masks to ventilators early in the pandemic exposed many countries as insufficiently prepared for a public health crisis. That experience reinforced pre-existing concerns about dependence on Chinese suppliers in sensitive sectors, such as Huawei’s controversial role in building out 5G telecommunications networks.

The quest for resilience comes with risks of its own. When resilience is seen as opposed to globalisation it can lead to tariff and other trade barriers being erected in an attempt to repatriate production of essential goods. But a rush to protectionism would be counterproductive: only the very biggest economies can even aim for self-sufficiency in goods critical for public health or national security. Even domestic supply chains can be disrupted by natural or man-made disasters.