One year ago, President Biden signed Executive Order 14017 directing an all-of-government approach to assessing vulnerabilities in – and strengthening the resilience of – the United States’ critical supply chains. Within six months of taking office, the Administration completed a comprehensive review of the supply chains for four critical products, identified solutions to secure those supply chains against a wide range of risks and vulnerabilities, and established a first-of-its-kind Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force (SCDTF) to address the challenges arising from a pandemic-affected economic recovery.
These actions are contributing to a historic recovery in American manufacturing and industrial strength. During President Biden’s first year in office, the economy added 367,000 manufacturing jobs – the most in nearly 30 years – manufacturing as a share of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) returned to pre-pandemic levels, and companies have announced major new investments in American manufacturing. American ports also moved a record amount of cargo, and inflation-adjusted retail inventories – excluding autos – surged 5 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year, ensuring retailers’ shelves were fully stocked for a record-breaking holiday season. The progress made rebuilding American supply chains contributed to the fastest job growth in history, the fastest economic growth in nearly 40 years, and a faster recovery than every other country in the G7.
Today, on the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s executive order, seven cabinet agencies published reports identifying key weaknesses in some of the nation’s most crucial supply chains, and devising multi-year strategies to address those weaknesses. Part of the plan includes:
Advance the technological leadership of both small and large manufacturers. U.S. technological leadership remains critical to building greater long-term resilience and global competitiveness, including innovations in manufacturing. The Administration will host a series of roundtables with the 16 Manufacturing USA institutes focused on scaling innovative technologies, promoting sector-based regional workforce initiatives, partnering with unions, and supporting small- and medium-sized suppliers, to develop specific proposals for how the institutes can strengthen our supply chains.