President Biden issued recently an executive order laying out in more detail the responsibilities of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience established in November 2023 as part of a broader effort to strengthen supply chains critical to U.S. economic and national security.
According to the EO, the Council will be led by the assistant to the president for national security affairs and the assistant to the president for economic policy and will consist of more than 30 members, including virtually all Cabinet secretaries, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the heads of agencies like the Council of Economic Advisers, the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Export-Import Bank. The heads of the Federal Maritime Commission and the Surface Transportation Board may be invited to participate as well.
Specific functions of the Council will include the following.
- recommend to federal agencies procedures and best practices for cooperation and coordination on data collection and analysis
- identify resources needed to build strong and enduring agency capabilities to identify, address, mitigate, and prevent supply chain risks, shocks, and disruptions
- coordinate with other interagency bodies managing policy areas that affect the integrity of supply chains
- coordinate with agencies to ensure their operations related to building critical supply chain resilience are conducted in a manner that promotes a fair, open, and competitive marketplace and empowers workers to advocate for their rights and quality jobs
Further, every four years the Council will conduct a supply chain review of industries critical to national or economic security and issue a report (the first of which is due no later than Dec. 31, 2024) that makes recommendations concerning (1) incentives necessary to attract and retain private-sector investments in supply chains for critical goods and materials and other essential goods, materials, and services, (2) a strategic plan that includes trade, diplomatic, economic, security, international development, and other policy actions to guide U.S. engagement with allies and partners to strengthen global supply chain resilience in critical sectors, (3) potential legislative changes, (4) reforms to domestic and international trade rules and agreements to support supply chain resilience, security, diversity, sustainability, and strength, and (5) other topics.
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