Remarks by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness

Thank you, Assistant Secretary Harris. Thanks to chairs Ursula and Jeff, and to our speakers.

Yesterday we held our inaugural Supply Chain Summit, and it was a great moment to reflect on how far we’ve come.

Following the COVID supply chain challenges, we embraced a whole of government approach to address supply chain gaps. It’s truly remarkable to see what has happened in the last four year – not just with the supply chain center – but across the range of government and private sector tools.

I’d like to take some time today to celebrate successes – and hear from you what you’ve learned in the last four years. But then we need to get back to work and talk about what the next phase of our work should entail.

First, the successes:

The Biden-Harris Administration had a strategy to address these challenges and ignite growth. 

Our belief is that the federal government must set the strategic direction and create the conditions for growth. We need to lay the foundation for the private sector to do what the private sector does best – innovate, push the growth frontier, and drive U.S. competitiveness.

Congress gave us a brand-new set of tools to achieve those goals. CHIPS and IRA focused on changing incentives for the private sector. Through tax credits, investments, loans, and procurement policies, we are changing the economic calculus so the private sector can take risks in the areas where we have set strategic priorities.

We’re seeing early signs of success.

Investment: Construction of factories has more than doubled since 2021. Private sector investment in manufacturing is at the highest level since World War II business investment in equipment, and software has been beating forecasters’ expectations.

CHIPS: In the two years since the CHIPS and Science Act became law, America has become a magnet for private sector investments in semiconductor manufacturing and innovation. The United States is now expected to grow its share of global leading-edge logic manufacturing to 28% by 2032 – up from 0% when the law was passed.

IRA: Is triggering a clean energy boom along the supply chain of EVs, for example.

This is all great. But there is obviously more work to do.

I worry about PRC oversupply undermining our investments. From legacy chips to lithium, we see serious risks. And I’m not sure we currently have the best tools to address these concerns.

I’m concerned that OEMs are not actually pricing in resilience but counting on long-term government subsidies to provide them U.S.-produced inputs at a China-price.

You all have put two critical issues front and center: Data Center supply chains and Buy America provisions for semiconductor supply chains. These are both clear areas where we have more work to do.

So, I’d like to start by asking you some questions:

When you reflect on the last four years, what do you think we’ve done really well? Where do you see success?

What still keeps you up a night?  What do you think we need to focus on next?

Read the full report from the U.S. Department of Commerce: Read More