President Biden signed an govt order on Wednesday mandating a overview of provide chains for semiconductor chips and different vital items.
A number of American politicians have expressed concern over the nation’s reliance on provide chains based mostly in China throughout the coronavirus pandemic, together with for medical merchandise. The U.S. is at present dealing with a scarcity of semiconductor chips, a part of pc expertise used within the auto trade, smartphones, and army tech, amongst different functions.
Biden’s order will provoke a 100-day overview of provide chains for prescribed drugs, semiconductor chips, minerals and uncommon earths, and high-capacity batteries.
“It’s about resilience, figuring out attainable factors of vulnerabilities in our provide chain, and ensuring we now have the backup alternate options or workarounds in place,” Biden mentioned at a press convention on Wednesday. “Even small failures at one level within the provide chain may cause outsized impacts additional up the chain.”
In response to a White Home reality sheet, provide chain critiques “should establish vital items and supplies inside provide chains, the manufacturing or different capabilities wanted to supply these supplies, in addition to a wide range of vulnerabilities created by failure to develop home capabilities.”
Tech elements recognized within the order are anticipated to grow to be much more vital to the U.S. because the auto trade plans to transform to manufacturing of electrical automobiles. Basic Motors just lately introduced plans to stop manufacturing of gas-powered automobiles fully by 2035, and is making an attempt to transform its factories towards electrical car manufacturing.
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