White House Orders Review of America's Supply Chains

Publication Date: Mar 2, 2021

President Joe Biden has signed several executive orders (EO) aimed at identifying and correcting weaknesses in the United States’ supply chains. On Jan. 21, Biden released EO 14001, which aims to help create “a sustainable public health supply chain.” As part of this order, Biden ordered the federal government to “immediately review the availability of critical materials, treatments, and supplies needed to combat COVID-19 (pandemic response supplies), including personal protective equipment (PPE) and the resources necessary to effectively produce and distribute tests and vaccines at scale.”

The order requires federal agencies to take appropriate steps, using tools such as the Defense Production Act, to correct supply shortages as soon as practical by acquiring additional stockpiles, improving distribution systems, building market capacity and/or expanding the industrial base.

In addition, it requires the federal government to develop within 180 days a pandemic supply chain resilience strategy, which is similar to policy recommendations outlined by ASCP as part of its 2020 and 2021 National COVID-19 Testing and Supply Strategy. Biden’s supply chair directive is intended to ensure sufficient supplies are manufactured domestically to handle the current (and future) pandemics and biological threats.

This EO has been buttressed by several additional orders aimed at improving supply chain stability. For example, EO 14017 mandates a review of scores of U.S. supply chains to guard against the potential damage the pandemics or other threats could have on manufacturing capacity and the availability and integrity of critical products and services, including those related to laboratory testing.

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