President Biden wants to fix the US supply chain (it's not just a chip problem)

Signed, sealed, delivered... On Wednesday, Biden signed an exec order to address critical shortages, ordering a 100-day review of the US supply chain. ICYMI: The Great Chip Shortage is causing widespread production issues, especially for tech companies and car makers. All that WFH'ing has eaten up all the chips, so GM and Ford have had to shut down car plants. Tesla briefly closed its Fremont factory due to shortages. But...

• Chips aren't the only issue: The review will assess supply chain weak spots for other critical items (Grape-Nuts not included). Think: medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, raw materials, and EV batteries.
• The US is the world's largest importer. In 2019, the US imported $617B more worth of goods than it exported to other countries. The pandemic made everyone more isolated. Now American industry is suffering from a lack of self-sufficiency.

Worse than the TP shortage... The pandemic highlighted the US’ reliance on other countries (especially China) for crucial supplies… and exposed the limits of globalization. "Crisis mode" demonstrated how harmful that reliance can be:

• In March, the US suffered a serious shortage of masks and ventilators. The US had to import at least half of its PPE from China, and it still wasn't enough.
• Now, there's this chip shortage. But more than 80% of chip production happens in Asia, with China leading the charge. The US is also heavily reliant on China for drug ingredients, electronic components, and "rare-earth elements" used in hundreds of tech products.