Bill Pushes Nearshoring, Moving Critical Goods Out of China
Legislation from Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez, D-N.J., would have the State and Commerce departments report to Congress on how each is working with allies to secure supply chains for semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging, large capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals and active ingredients for those drugs, and critical minerals. The bill, whose text was published May 6, also directs the administration to develop common standards for transparent, trusted and sustainable supply chains and to end reliance on China for these goods. About 80% of critical mineral processing is in China and China is dominant in active ingredients for pills.
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The bill also says that the U.S., allies, civil society and the private sector should "establish an alliance to counter any state or private monopolization on the control, supply chains, or industrial processing and extraction of critical mineral resources."
It also asks diplomats to convince Latin American and Caribbean governments "to develop formalized national nearshoring strategies; to address corruption and rule of law concerns; to modernize digital and physical infrastructure; to lower trade barriers; to improve ease of doing business; and to finance and incentivize nearshoring initiatives."
It asks the administration to advance diplomatic efforts "to harmonize standards and regulations, expedite customs operations, and facilitate economic integration in Latin America and the Caribbean," and asks that the government finance nearshoring, as well.