Biden Holds Supply Chain Meeting with 14 Countries, Issues "Defense Material Mobilization Executive Order"

U.S. President Joe Biden (Photo by Reuters)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden called for international cooperation among 14 allied countries to respond to the global supply chain collapse. As a domestic measure, he revealed plans to utilize defense materials to resolve product shortages caused by supply difficulties and to provide additional funding to Central American countries such as Mexico.

On the 31st (local time), while visiting Rome, Italy to attend the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, President Biden presided over a summit meeting related to the recovery of the global supply chain. Fourteen countries, including South Korea, Australia, India, and Singapore, participated alongside the European Union (EU), excluding the United States. This meeting, which brought together 14 allied countries for the first time since Biden took office, was organized to address the deepening crisis of the global supply chain collapse, including the United States.

At the meeting, President Biden announced that he would sign an executive order to simplify access to defense stockpiles to respond quickly to product shortages caused by supply chain issues. Earlier, on the 13th, Biden held a countermeasure meeting with private companies such as Samsung Electronics, Walmart, FedEx, as well as large truck drivers and West Coast port unions to resolve supply chain problems.

The executive order delegates authority to the Department of Defense to release materials from defense stockpiles, which will be decided through inter-agency consultations, according to major foreign media. According to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the U.S. defense stockpile refers to 42 raw material-based stockpiles of strategic and critical materials necessary in national emergencies, aimed at preventing foreign dependence and single-source supply.

President Biden emphasized that international cooperation must come first to respond to the supply chain collapse. He urged, "I call on countries to strengthen critical stockpiles for their national security," adding, "But like many other challenges, this is not a problem that any one country can solve unilaterally; coordination is essential."

He stressed the need to promote international cooperation on supply chain collapse and to strengthen and diversify the entire supply chain ecosystem in the long term, from raw materials to shipping.

He also promised additional funding to alleviate bottlenecks in Mexico and Central American countries. President Biden mentioned that this funding would help the U.S. and international partners significantly reduce formal procedures such as customs clearance to ease congestion at ports.

Targeting China in particular, he said, "Supply chains must be sustainable to ensure they are free from forced labor and child labor, support the dignity and voice of workers, and align with our climate goals."

Although President Biden did not directly mention China, his statement that "our supply chains must be diversified to avoid reliance on a single source" is widely interpreted as an intention to counter China. The Biden administration has emphasized its commitment to resolving production domestically without relying on China and reorganizing supply chains through collaboration with allies.

Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to reconvene a summit next year to strengthen supply chain resilience, bringing together businesses, labor groups, and academia. Foreign media reported that President Biden instructed Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to hold follow-up meetings next year to concretize the discussions held at this summit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.