Brace for further supply chain problems

Supply chain

What I’m not seeing here is what happens if North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries slap China with sanctions for aiding Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.^[1]

Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html

Matt O’Brien, “War in Ukraine disrupts key supply chains – and lives,” Associated Press, March 15, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-technology-business-europe-texas-2d6a87d8b0af4b4b4872a1b8fd0f276d

Carol Ryan, “Ukraine War Stokes Insecurity in the World’s Food Supply,” Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-stokes-insecurity-in-the-worlds-food-supply-11647343035

COVID-19 Pandemic

Here’s another reason for concern about the supply chain: Much of the world’s manufacturing is in China now; supply chain issues originate there and then ripple outwards, compounded by neoliberal privileging of “efficiency” over resilience.^[2] China has had decent success in containing COVID-19 outbreaks so far, but that now appears to be faltering,^[3] in part due to—yes, this again—vaccine resistance,^[4] and Chinese lockdowns to contain outbreaks are a known factor in the supply chain crisis.^[5]

Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html

Laurie McGinley, Tyler Pager, and Carolyn Y. Johnson, “Pfizer and BioNTech to seek authorization of second coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/15/pfizer-second-booster-shot/

David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/

Pittsburgh

Infrastructure

Jonathan D. Silver et al., “Pittsburgh-area bridges left in chronic disrepair as funding system leaves some of the worst spans behind,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 13, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2022/03/13/pittsburgh-area-bridges-chronic-disrepair-funding-system/stories/202203130044

Ukraine

It appears China will support Russia, with military as well as economic aid.^[6] China denies this,^[7] perhaps because the U.S. is threatening to extend sanctions against China as well, if it does so.^[8]

Aaron Blake, “Tucker Carlson goes full blame-America on Russia’s Ukraine invasion,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/08/tucker-carlson-goes-full-blame-america-russias-ukraine-invasion/

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden announces ban on Russian energy imports,” CNN, March 8, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/08/politics/russian-energy-import-ban/index.html

Anthony Faiola, “Through Putin’s looking glass: How the Russians are seeing — or not seeing — the war in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/russian-media-state-television-ukraine/

Julia Ioffe, “The Death of Putin,” Puck News, March 8, 2022, https://puck.news/the-death-of-putin/

Yuras Karmanau, “People flee embattled Ukraine city, supplies head to another,” Associated Press, March 8, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-united-nations-evacuations-62fa232dcb9d6260fef0e9c7f5386f9a

Matthew Luxmoore, Drew Hinshaw, and Nancy A. Youssef, “NATO Members Mount Huge Operation to Resupply Ukrainian Fighters,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/nato-members-mount-huge-operation-to-resupply-ukrainian-fighters-11646761821

Paul Nuki, “Why Vladimir Putin may stay in power longer than we think,” Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/08/vladimir-putin-may-stay-power-longer-think/

Matt Oliver, “West scrambles for alternatives to Russian oil and gas,7rdquo; Telegraph, March 8, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/03/08/inside-wests-battle-wean-russian-oil-gas/

Emily Rauhala, “E.U. presents plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds this year, stops short of boycott,” Washington Post, March 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/08/eu-russian-gas/

Daniel Thomas & Michael Race, “War in Ukraine: Russia says it may cut gas supplies if oil ban goes ahead,” British Broadcasting Corporation, March 8, 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60656673

Agence France-Presse, “Chernobyl power supply cut but IAEA says ‘no critical impact on safety,’” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/09/chernobyl-power-supply-cut-completely-after-russian-seizure-warns-ukaine

Samantha Lock and Maanvi Singh, “Russia-Ukraine war update: what we know on day 15 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 9, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/russia-ukraine-war-update-what-we-know-on-day-15-of-the-russian-invasion

David L. Stern et al., “Russian airstrike hits maternity hospital, as officials warn of fast-rising civilian toll,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/09/russian-airstrike-hospital/

Adela Suliman and David L. Stern, “Chernobyl plant disconnected from power grid; Ukraine demands cease-fire for urgent repairs,” Washington Post, March 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/09/chernobyl-ukraine-russia-iaea-nuclear-monitoring-lost/

Victoria Ward, “‘Atrocity’ as maternity hospital in besieged Mariupol destroyed by Russian air strikes,” Telegraph, March 9, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/09/childrens-hospital-mariupol-destroyed-russian-air-strikes/

Associated Press, “Russia built an economy like a fortress but the pain is real,” March 10, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-global-trade-economy-cd99ba45b1e36bb2ab80574eeaa69e4c

Daniel Boffey, “Western Europe leaders rebuff Ukraine fast-track EU membership appeal,” Guardian, March 10, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/10/western-europe-leaders-rebuff-ukraine-fast-track-eu-membership-appeal

Vladislav Davidzon, “No Quiet Place Left on Earth,” Tablet, March 10, 2022, https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/no-quiet-place-left-on-earth

Steven L. Hall, “Putin doesn’t fear a coup by oligarchs. But he should fear his fellow spies,” Washington Post, March 10, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/10/putin-coup-russia-siloviki/

Julia Ioffe, “Inside Russia’s Media Black Hole,” Puck News, March 10, 2022, https://puck.news/inside-russias-media-black-hole/

Pavel Polityuk and Tuvan Gumrukcu, “Ukraine says Russia snubs plea for humanitarian access to besieged civilians,” Reuters, March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

Reuters, “Russia, Ukraine foreign ministers meet as war enters third week,” March 10, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-accuses-russia-genocide-after-bombing-childrens-hospital-2022-03-10/

William Vaillancourt, “Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin Sets Hannity Straight on Russian Propaganda,” Daily Beast, March 10, 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-jennifer-griffin-sets-hannity-straight-on-russian-propaganda

Kaitlan Collins et al., “Biden calls for suspending normal trade relations with Russia and will ban imports of vodka and seafood,” CNN, March 11, 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/russia-trade-status-us-g7-eu-biden/index.html

Nick Gutteridge, “Russia ‘stockpiling bodies of Ukrainian soldiers’ to use in ‘false flag’ attack on Chernobyl,” Telegraph, March 11, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/11/vladimir-putin-planning-terror-attack-releasing-radioactive/

David Horovitz, “What does Putin think he’s doing? An expert’s primer on why he invaded, what’s next,” Times of Israel, March 11, 2022, https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-does-putin-think-hes-doing-an-experts-primer-on-why-he-invaded-whats-next/

Eric Levitz, “Ukraine Is a War Without Endgame,” New York, March 11, 2022, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/ukraine-is-a-war-without-endgame.html

Ashley Parker et al., “‘No off-ramps’: U.S. and European officials don’t see a clear endgame in Ukraine,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/ukraine-end-game/

David Remnick, “The Weakness of the Despot,” New Yorker, March 11, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin

Reuters, “UN rights office says it has credible reports of Russian cluster bomb use in Ukraine,” March 11, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/un-rights-office-has-credible-reports-russian-cluster-bomb-use-ukraine-2022-03-11/

David L. Stern et al., “Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say,” Washington Post, March 11, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/11/intelligence-russian-chemical-attack/

Maureen Dowd, “Zelensky Answers Hamlet,” New York Times, March 12, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/12/opinion/zelensky-ukraine-russia-biden.html

Philip Gourevitch, “Is It Time to Call Putin’s War in Ukraine Genocide?” New Yorker, March 13, 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/is-it-time-to-call-putins-war-in-ukraine-genocide

Luke Harding, Peter Beaumont, and Lorenzo Tondo, “Russia missile strike on Ukraine base close to Polish border kills 35, governor says,” Guardian, March 13, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/russia-widens-attacks-on-ukraine-with-missile-strike-on-base-close-to-polish-border

Jennifer Maloney, Emily Glazer, and Heather Haddon, “Russian Prosecutors Warn Western Companies of Arrests, Asset Seizures,” Wall Street Journal, March 13, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-prosecutors-warn-western-companies-of-arrests-asset-seizures-11647206193

Richard Spencer, “Putin wipes out entire Ukrainian city of Volnovakha,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-wipes-out-entire-ukrainian-city-of-volnovakha-b28k0lwh7

Edward Wong and Julian E. Barnes, “Russia Asked China for Military and Economic Aid for Ukraine War, U.S. Officials Say,” New York Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/politics/russia-china-ukraine.html

Henry Zeffman, “Russia ‘using banned white phosphorus bombs’ in attack on Ukrainian city,” Times, March 13, 2022, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-using-banned-white-phosphorus-in-attack-on-ukrainian-city-nj3rq6mg6

Rodion Ebbighausen, “Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Deutschewelle, March 14, 2022, https://www.dw.com/en/why-china-thinks-the-west-is-to-blame-for-russias-war-in-ukraine/a-61119517

Martin Farrer, “Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 20 of the Russian invasion,” Guardian, March 14, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/15/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-20-of-the-russian-invasion

John Ismay, “Russia Deploys a Mystery Munition in Ukraine,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/us/russia-ukraine-weapons-decoy.html

Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/

Nomaan Merchant, “US View of Putin: Angry, Frustrated, Likely to Escalate War,” Military.com, March 14, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/us-view-of-putin-angry-frustrated-likely-escalate-war.html

Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/

Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson, “Russian Forces Kill Civilians, Loot for Supplies in Occupied Ukraine, Residents Say,” Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2022, https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-forces-kill-civilians-loot-for-supplies-in-occupied-ukraine-residents-say-11647267560

Jon Allsop, “The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine,” Columbia Journalism Review, March 15, 2022, https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/media_bias_ukraine_war.php

Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html

Poppie Platt et al., “Volodymyr Zelensky says talks with Russia were ‘pretty good’ as Ukraine pushes for ‘a fair peace,’” Telegraph, March 15, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/russia-ukraine-war-latest-news-putin-refugees-zelensky/

^[1]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/↩
^[2]Matthew Jinoo Buck, “How America’s Supply Chains Got Railroaded,” American Prospect, February 4, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/how-americas-supply-chains-got-railroaded/; David Dayen, “Re-Engineering Our Supply Chains,” American Prospect, February 11, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/re-engineering-our-supply-chains/; David Dayen and Rakeen Mabud, “How We Broke the Supply Chain,” American Prospect, January 31, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/how-we-broke-the-supply-chain-intro/; Esther Eriksson von Allmen, “Medical Emergency,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/health/medical-emergency-supply-chain/; Jarod Facundo, “Not Even a Superhero Could Fix Global Supply Chains,” American Prospect, February 8, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/not-even-a-superhero-could-fix-global-supply-chains/; Ella Fanger, “Labor Fight Brews on the Docks,” American Prospect, February 3, 2022, https://prospect.org/labor/labor-fight-brews-on-the-docks/; Gabrielle Gurley, “The Warehouse Space Race,” American Prospect, February 8, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/warehouse-space-race/; Amir Khafagy, “The Hidden Costs of Containerization,” American Prospect, February 2, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/hidden-costs-of-containerization/; Robert Kuttner, “China: Epicenter of the Supply Chain Crisis,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/china-epicenter-of-the-supply-chain-crisis/; David J. Lynch, “Auto industry already feeling the pinch from Canadian bridge blockade,” Washington Post, February 9, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/02/09/canada-truck-bridge-protest-autos/; Harold Meyerson, “Why Trucking Can’t Deliver the Goods,” American Prospect, February 7, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/why-trucking-cant-deliver-the-goods/; Alexander Sammon, “We Were Warned About the Ports,” American Prospect, February 3, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/we-were-warned-about-the-ports/↩
^[3]Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html; David Stanway and Roxanne Liu, “China’s soaring COVID infections fuel concern about cost of containment,” Reuters, March 15, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-reports-3602-new-confirmed-coronavirus-cases-march-14-vs-1437-day-earlier-2022-03-15/↩
^[4]Keith Bradsher, “Surge of Omicron Infections Prompts Lockdowns in China,” New York Times, March 14, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/14/world/asia/china-covid-omicron-lockdowns.html; Alexandra Stevenson and Austin Ramzy, “‘I Don’t Dare Get the Shot’: Virus Ravages Unvaccinated Older Hong Kongers,” New York Times, February 25, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/business/hong-kong-unvaccinated-elderly.html ↩
^[5]Robert Kuttner, “China: Epicenter of the Supply Chain Crisis,” American Prospect, February 1, 2022, https://prospect.org/economy/china-epicenter-of-the-supply-chain-crisis/↩
^[6]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/↩
^[7]Associated Press, “China Says it’s ‘Impartial’ on Ukraine, Denies Aiding Russia,” Military.com, March 15, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/15/china-says-its-impartial-ukraine-denies-aiding-russia.html; Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/↩
^[8]Robert Mendick, Nataliya Vasilyeva, and Nick Allen, “China ‘willing to supply Russia’ with weapons and military support,” Telegraph, March 14, 2022, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/03/14/china-willing-supply-russia-weapons-military-support/; Ashley Parker et al., “U.S. warns China not to assist Russia,” Washington Post, March 15, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/14/us-china-ukraine/↩

Irregular Bullshit