Dive Brief:

• President Joe Biden convened the first meeting of a new cabinet-level council focused on supply chain issues, with the White House using the event to announce a slate of investments meant to improve the shipment of goods across industries. 
• The Council on Supply Chain Resilience will convene nearly every member of the president’s cabinet, bringing together more than a dozen of the nation’s top federal officials directly involved in industrial policy. The council will be co-chaired by the National Security Advisor and National Economic Advisor.
• The creation of the new council is one of nearly 30 actions the White House shared Monday as evidence of Biden’s focus on strengthening supply chains. The actions include $196 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to diversify food processing and create new market opportunities for farmers.

Dive Insight:

Supply chain topics have now officially garnered a seat at the table for officials at the highest level of U.S. government, after proving themselves to be vital to the economy over the past four years.

“Robust supply chains are fundamental to a strong economy. When supply chains smooth, prices fall for goods, food, and equipment, putting more money in the pockets of American families, workers, farmers, and entrepreneurs,” the White House said in a fact sheet. “That is why President Biden made supply chain resilience a priority from Day One of his Administration.”

Ever since the pandemic wreaked havoc on supply chains, the Biden administration has engaged a multi-front approach to shore up industrial resilience, roping in several branches of government. Congress, for example, has passed several laws with supply chain provisions to bolster industries deemed critical to national security, such as semiconductors. Meanwhile, at the executive level, the White House has sought to create liaisons, meetings and even offices dedicated to coordinating supply chain policy across multiple agencies.

“These efforts helped unsnarl supply chains, re-normalize the flow of goods, and lower inflation,” the White House said in its fact sheet.

One such initiative was the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, which was created in 2021 to resolve supply and demand mismatches, and was led by the Secretaries of Commerce, Transportation and Agriculture. The new council announced today expands those efforts to also include industrial policy chiefs like the Secretaries of Commerce, Energy, Defense, and others like the U.S. Trade Representative.

As part of Biden’s push to improve supply chains, the USDA has moved to invest more in infrastructure for domestic food processing and manufacturing. The latest $196 million funding investment will go toward 185 projects across 37 states and Puerto Rico.

Sarah Zimmerman contributed to this story.