Friendshoring, sourcing and shipping through politically aligned countries, is moving from talking point to operating principle. It was defined in 2022 by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as shifting trade toward “a large number of trusted partners.” Since then, there have been a measurable split in trade and FDI along alliance lines, with a parallel rise of “connector” countries that either substitute production (reallocation) or act as transshipment or assembly hubs (rerouting).
The numbers make it clear. By July 2025, Mexico had become the US’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 15% of total trade, pulling further ahead of Canada and far above China. That’s a cornerstone trend for nearshoring and friendshoring in North America.
However, globalization isn’t over, it’s being re-mapped. DHL’s 2024 Connectedness Index found that trade flows held up better than expected, just rebalanced. The Americas are becoming more connected. With the USMCA in place, more goods are moving by truck and rail between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Companies are adding warehouses near the border in Texas and the Midwest, and shippers are turning to Gulf ports as an alternative to crowded West Coast gateways.
Intra-Asia is the busiest regional network. As companies diversify away from China, more production is moving into Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, though often still tied to Chinese parts and tooling. That means more regional feeder services into big transshipment hubs like Singapore, Port Klang, and Tanjung Pelepas, and more varied long-haul exports from South and Southeast Asia to the US East/Gulf coasts and Europe. Both rerouting and reallocation are happening, so China trade isn’t disappearing, it’s becoming part of more complex, multi-stop Asian supply chains.
Europe’s new rules are reshaping trade. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has begun reporting now with fees starting in 2026. As carbon tracking expands, shippers will favor green suppliers that can prove their emissions, and they’ll lean toward forwarders who can move trustworthy data alongside the freight.
The rules are also shifting. The US has suspended the de minimis $800 duty-free threshold for parcels from China (and some other origins), starting August 2025. For e-commerce players and consolidators, that means more formal customs filings, faster data prep, and creative tariff planning, like changing sourcing strategies or consolidating differently.
Europe is tightening too. The EU’s next phase of ICS2 now applies to ocean, road, and rail shipments, requiring detailed product descriptions, validated shipper/receiver info, and earlier cut-offs. Miss the deadline, and your cargo risks a “Do Not Load/Unload” order. Similar data-first rules are spreading across allied economies, all pushing toward trusted-trader programs and shared digital “single windows.”
Trade alliances are reshaping routing as well. The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), active since February 2024, is building a crisis-response and supply-chain mapping network across 14 countries. The UK joined CPTPP in December 2024, expanding a major Pacific trade bloc. These agreements are starting to speed up clearances and align standards, especially in sensitive industries.
Friendshoring is changing the way global supply chains work. Instead of collapsing the existing flows, it’s redirecting them. Some supply chains will shift only slightly, while others will reroute more dramatically. Trade volumes won’t shrink overall, but the map of where goods come from and how they move will look different.
For businesses, it means shifting production and sourcing away from politically sensitive or high-risk countries and toward trusted trade partners. The goal isn’t always to find the absolute lowest cost, but to reduce the risk of tariffs, sanctions, or sudden policy changes that could cut off access to key markets.
As your trusted freight partner, Translindo helps turn every challenge into a competitive advantage. In a trade environment where rules, routes, and risks are constantly shifting, we are committed to give our clients reliable choices that protect margins and keep the goods moving effienciently.
