U.S. President Joe Biden ordered a review of the supply chain of critical items that revealed problems in the supply and demand structure on the 24th.
The subject of the review includes semiconductor chips and vehicle batteries that Korea has a technological advantage in the global market, which may affect Korean companies according to the results of the review.
According to Reuters, President Biden signed an executive order that requires a 100-day review of the supply chain of four key items: semiconductor chips, large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles, rare earths, and pharmaceuticals.
These items have in common that the U.S. has struggled with supply and demand in the global supply chain due to the corona 19 pandemic and the like.
The production line of US automakers stopped due to the lack of semiconductor chips for vehicles, and during the corona 19 pandemic last year, there was a serious shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), which had relied heavily on imports.
There are many concerns that rare earths, which have a high proportion of Chinese imports, could also be weaponized, such as restricting exports by the United States and China due to conflict.
The White House said on the electric vehicle battery issue, “The United States is a net exporter of electric vehicles, but it is not a leader in the battery production chain.”
In addition to the four items, the executive order also requires a one-year supply chain review for six industries, including defense, health, information and communication technology, energy, transportation, and agricultural products and food.
In the case of the four major items that run for 100 days, it is interpreted that it reflects the intention to prevent the technological rise of China and reduce the US dependence on China.
There is also an evaluation that the one part of the initiative that President Biden announced that he would contain China through technical competition instead of the “tariff war” of former President Donald Trump, was embodied through this executive order.
At a regular briefing on the 25th, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zaorizen said, “It is impractical to artificially promote industrial transfer and decoupling, and to forcefully change economic rules with political power and cannot solve the problems faced by the country concerned.” I pointed out.