Protectionism Won't Bolster Supply Chains

摘要

The COVID-19 crisis continues to teach Americans a bitter lesson about the fragility of their nation's industrial supply chains. Crippling shortages in personal protective equipment and other medical gear have bracingly revealed U.S. dependency on foreign suppliers for meeting basic needs. As the idea of rebuilding domestic manufacturing capacity gains steam, many voices go a step further by calling for protectionist policies to enhance supply chain resiliency. Rather than a solution to supply chain fragility, trade protectionism will make the problem worse. Instead, advanced manufacturing technologies offer a better path to strengthening U.S. supply chains. The Defense Department's advanced manufacturing programs show investment in the capabilities of the domestic manufacturing base can succeed as a long-term strategy for U.S. supply chain resiliency. Supply chains have suffered from three primary stressors. First, the global, simultaneous and persistent surge in demand outpaced the outflow from producers, creating severe backlogs.