The American economy remains relatively strong, but concerns about its security linger. From the Biden-Harris administration’s opposition to Nippon Steel acquiring US Steel, to proposed tariffs on Chinese cranes that might be used for digital surveillance, to worries about access to rare earth minerals and component parts for crucial industries controlled by adversaries, it’s clear that creating more resilient supply chains is a key issue. And it will remain so no matter who wins the presidential election in November.
It’s also a topic that will get lots of air time this week in Washington, with the commerce department hosting a supply chain summit and convening a series of meetings with US industry, foreign allies, academics and civil society to discuss how to identify and manage systemic risks in supply chains.
This is part of an effort led by US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, who told me last week that the biggest surprise of her tenure was learning “just how unprepared the federal government was to identify and react to supply chain disruptions, and how unsophisticated the approach to this has been for so long”.