Nov. 27 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will announce more than 30 new policy initiatives on Monday to strengthen the U.S. supply chain while aiming to lower costs for inflation-weary consumers, the White House said.
The new initiatives will include $275 million from the Energy Department for clean-energy efforts in communities affected by coal mine or coal power plant closures, as well as $196 million from the Agriculture Department to strengthen food supply chains in 37 states and Puerto Rico.
The announcement coincides with the inaugural meeting of the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, in which Biden will gather with numerous Cabinet members, senior administration officials and trade representatives to develop post-pandemic strategies to boost America’s capacity to move goods.
The council plans to complete a comprehensive review of the supply chain by the end of 2024.
Supply chain difficulties have contributed to inflation since the pandemic. Prices have been easing somewhat in recent months.
The administration aims to monitor climate impacts and shore up the raw minerals supply chain as officials continue to prioritize domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
As part of the plan, Biden plans to expand the authority of the Health and Human Services Department to boost domestic manufacturing of emergency medicines and rely less on foreign suppliers, which Biden deems critical to national defense, the White House said.
Biden’s plan calls for more data-sharing between the government agencies to identify risks and cultivate new data that would potentially bring further federal actions to increase supply chain resilience nationwide.
The government will seek to establish new partnerships with private sector stakeholders to “avoid bottlenecks, shorten lead times for customers, and enable a more resilient and globally competitive freight network,” the White House said.
“These actions will help Americans get the products they need when they need them, enable reliable deliveries for businesses, strengthen our agriculture and food systems,” the White House said, calling the supply chain a critical sector of the economy that determines the cost of a wide range of products.
Many of Biden’s announcements are focused on global efforts to boost the supply chain, including partnerships with the European Union, Japan and South Korea to establish an early warning system for semiconductor supply chain disruptions.
The United States is also seeking emergency trade pacts with Canada and Mexico, while strengthening trade throughout the Western hemisphere through the Americas Partnership and several other international efforts.
Previously, Biden signed an executive order to boost the supply chain; and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he established a task force to work with communities to address supply chain disruptions.
The Defense Department invested $714 million in 2023 to support defense supply chains, while Biden’s legislative agenda, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, have also worked to expand production capacity, lower prices, and increase the overall flow of goods, the White House said.
The strain on supply chains dropped significantly between October 2021 and October 2023, based on a measure by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, while the decrease in pressure has played a key role in bringing down inflation by 65% from its peak, the White House said.