Global supply chains deliver goods and services underpinning the wellbeing of New Zealanders. They enable productivity-enhancing specialisation, production, and distribution across the globe. However, the environment that global supply chains relied on for the past three decades is challenged by the emergence of escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal, natural hazards, economic, infrastructural and health risks.

New Zealand, as a small open economy relying on global exchange far from global markets is exposed to increased risk of disruptions while also having limited power to influence global supply chains. Existing economic challenges around productivity, innovation, infrastructure under-investment, and climate adaptation compromise our ability to adapt to future disruptions.

The Commission’s Improving Economic Resilience inquiry found clear and strong connections between the challenges of building resilience, fostering innovation and raising productivity. An increasingly uncertain and volatile economic and geopolitical world reinforces the need to tackle these challenges head-on.

Key recommendations:

• Complement trade data analysis with industry expert insights to identify vulnerable goods, services, and markets.
• Coordinate proactive investments in economic resilience by strengthening networks between industry and government to align investment intentions.
• Lead a focused innovation policy to support firms to export high-value products at scale, enabling New Zealand businesses to diversify export markets and increase resilience towards trade shocks.
• Sharpen the focus on economic resilience in existing industry-facing growth and innovation funds.
• Develop a strategic focus on economic resilience in the longer-term by building strong institutions, effective leadership and good relationships among government bodies, industry organisations and the community.