"Faster, not sooner"

Over the weekend, I watched a talking head on TV saying the following sentence.

An economic recovery will come faster, not sooner.

I can't make proper sense of this as both are synonymous to me. I cannot find this as a common phrase either.

Has anyone got an explanation for this statement? What are the differences between faster and sooner in this context?

Solution 1:

Probably

Faster here means, that the time period, in which the economic recovery will take place will be rather short.

Not sooner means that the time period between now and the moment in time, when the economic recovery starts, won't be short.

Faster, not sooner means, that the process of economic recovery won't take long to finish, but you should not expect it to start in the near future.

Solution 2:

Faster generally refers to speed, whereas sooner refers to time. In the sense of coming/arriving, these are essentially interchangeable, as the approach involves a speed, and arrival a time.

An example where they are not interchangeable:

Motorcycles are much faster than bicycles.