The Biden administration said Tuesday it will form a “Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.” This is one of several actions the White House is taking after conducting its 100-day supply chain review.
President Joe Biden ordered the review in February, to determine whether U.S. companies are relying too much on foreign suppliers, especially those in China. The review focused on four sectors: semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, rare-earth minerals and large batteries, noted Politico.
The task force, led by the secretaries of commerce, transportation and agriculture, is aiming to tackle bottlenecks in the chip industry, as well as in the transportation sector, home building and construction, and agriculture and food, senior administration officials said. Shortages in these key sectors show, “a mismatch between supply and demand has been evident,” White House officials said, reported NBC.
To combat the global semiconductor chip shortage, the administration said it will partner with industry and allies. It highlighted a $17 billion commitment from South Korean companies for U.S. semiconductor investments. It also called on Congress to provide at least $50 billion in investments for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and semiconductor R&D.
Reuters reported the White House recommended that Congress enact a supply chain resilience program within the Commerce Department, with $50 billion in funding. The administration is creating a new data hub to monitor near-term supply chain vulnerabilities, track supply and demand disruptions, and better share information with the private sector, according to the Commerce Department.
The 250-page supply chain report includes recommendations that the White House said, “will not only strengthen the four prioritized supply chains, but will rebuild the U.S. industrial base and restart our innovation engine.”
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