In the face of growing calls to safeguard the supply of medical goods, vital technological and industrial wares, and critical resources such as rare earth minerals, the Biden administration is launching a review of the global manufacturing supply chains on which public health, crucial sectors of the economy, and national security depend. With the world now scrambling for limited supplies of reliable COVID-19 vaccines, supply chains have turned from an obscure concern of invisible logistics specialists to a life-or-death issue in the public spotlight—not only in the United States, but around the globe.
As the Biden team maps out the origin of various pieces, parts, and vital products, it has the opportunity to advance two of its most important promises: making the United States safer and more resilient, and revitalizing cooperation and coordination with like-minded allies. The United States cannot single-handedly reverse globalization, nor can it pursue North-Korea-style autarky for a host of complex goods. What it can do, however, is strategically tie together international supply chains, diversify and redirect production, and globalize the storage of critical goods. And that path will let Biden fulfill his promise to rebuild and repair Washington’s alliances.
