Supply Chain Emergency Amid Global Protectionism..."For Production Strategy, 'Absorbing Volatility' Is Key"

As global protectionism intensifies, including the U.S.-China hegemony competition and the spread of nationalism, domestic exporters' supply chain management has entered an emergency.

In particular, as tariff barriers and regulations are drastically strengthened, a warning light has been turned on for the existing value chains of companies that have expanded locally or are planning exports, prompting the suggestion that they must approach the reorganization of production bases even more strategically.

IB Tomato held its "2026 Management Strategy Conference" at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 23rd.

This conference was arranged to explore new directions for Korean companies' management strategy in the coming era of economic security, in which simultaneous external variables such as U.S.-China strategic competition and energy risks originating in the Middle East arise.

The conference opened in earnest with a keynote address by Jeong In-kyo, former head of the Office of Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

In the following sessions, presentations were given under themes such as: △Supply chain security and industrial reorganization: how will companies' production strategies change (Myung Jae-ho, customs expert committee member at Daeryun LLC) △Capital strategy in the era of economic security: balancing investment and financial stability (Yoo Seung-min, senior research fellow at Samsung Securities).

Myung Jae-ho, Daeryun's customs expert committee member who attended as a presenter, reviewed the current status of global protectionist measures and explained the supply chain risks facing Korea's leading industries and the know-how for reorganizing core production strategies accordingly.

Committee member Myung stressed that the paradigm of corporate production-base strategy is shifting from predicting a single tariff rate to a flexible structure that absorbs frequent policy volatility.

He also noted that products that were once recognized for their origin based on the final processing location are now, in recent times, required to undergo review down to the upstream raw material stage.

In particular, as not only the product itself but also packaging materials, the labor environment, and the source of electricity used become subject to review, not only large companies but also cooperating small and medium-sized enterprises are experiencing difficulties.

Committee member Myung said, "In the past, the axis of production-base optimization was simply 'cost,' but now the key is portfolio design that solves market access, security suitability, tariffs, and securing electricity together," explaining, "When choosing a production base, one must set a strategy by mixing reshoring, nearshoring, and localization, based not on 'which is cheaper' but on 'which combination will not be cut off.'"

On industry-specific response methods, committee member Myung emphasized, "Rather than blindly relocating all processes, it is necessary to establish a de-China and process-by-process separation strategy tailored to each industry's characteristics."

He added, "Semiconductors and automobiles must concentrate high value-added core processes domestically and localize or nearshore assembly and packaging, while batteries require local cell production along with diversification of mineral procurement such as graphite."

On the practical limits of complete de-China and a diversification roadmap, committee member Myung stressed, "The winner in the era of supply chain security is not the company that moves the most at once, but the company that can transition the fastest."

He then urged, "Every company must, within the next 6 months, quantify tariff and origin risks to set priorities, and within 18 months secure multiple base options—executing a sequential action plan based on digital supply chain visibility."

Lee Eun-hye (zhses3@joseilbo.com)

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