Biden orders a review of U.S. supply chains

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday intended to boost manufacturing jobs by strengthening U.S. supply chains for advanced batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors.

The United States has become increasingly reliant on impor ts of these goods — a potential national security and economic risk that the Biden administration hopes to address with the planned 100day review and the possibility of increased domestic production. However, Biden will also look to work with international partners to ensure a stable and reliable supply chain.

“These are the kinds of common sense solutions that all Americans can get behind,” Biden said at a White House ceremony. “It’s about resilience, identifying possible points of vulnerabilities in our supply chains and making sure we have the backup alternatives or workarounds in place.”

White House officials emphasized that the order would help to create manufacturing jobs, a promise made by past presidents with decidedly mixed results. There are 12.2 million manufacturing jobs in the United States, down from 17 million in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Biden’s team declined to say how many manufacturing jobs could be created, only that the benefits would extend past factor y work. Sameera Fazili, deputy director of the White

House National Economic Council, said there will be spillover research and development and jobs in the ser vices sector.