With the arrival of the pandemic, the United States took a series of measures to protect supply chains, which were described in an analysis by the European Parliament.
Under the $ 2.2 trillion stimulus package, the Coronavirus Relief, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), which became law in March 2020, funding has been provided for medical supply chains and the air cargo.
The government also reapplied the Defense Production Law, which in times of emergency grants the president absolute authority over the private sector, to increase national capacity and significantly boost the production of necessary drugs and vaccines.
A series of important executive orders from the two pandemic-era presidents (Trump and Biden) endorsed America’s medical supply chains, ranging from direct funding to reducing dependence on foreign sources.
An important step taken by President Biden in his first week in office was to launch a comprehensive review of critical supply chains, spanning all branches of administration and relevant stakeholders.
The goal was to identify risks, address vulnerabilities, and develop a strategy to promote resilience.
The result was a 100-day report published in June 2021, with an initial set of reviews of supply chains in four key areas: (i) semiconductors; (ii) large capacity batteries; (iii) minerals and critical materials; and (iv) pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Supply chains
As with the European Union, China is once again the main source of dependence on the United States in these chains.
The report sets out the steps to be taken to boost supply in these sectors, one of which is to «build strong relationships with allies and partners who share our values.»
So far, the United States has initiated supply chain partnerships with Japan, South Korea, and the European Union (the latter through the Council for Trade and Technology, which is discussed in more detail in the last section of this report).
The United States has passed the Competition and Innovation Act, which explicitly seeks to launch a supply chain resilience and crisis response program and mentions joint work with the European Union on supply.
Additionally, it is considering the Build Back Better Act (to support national supply chains).
In addition, President Biden launched the Supply Chain Disruption Task Force in June 2021, to address transportation and logistics-related obstacles to economic recovery, and increased cooperation with the private sector to address delays. and congestion in US ports.
