White House outlines new initiatives for innovation, manufacturing

To mark the anniversary of its executive order on supply chains, the White House released a fact sheet this morning outlining past and future actions to strengthen American competitiveness. The release includes several initiatives that have not been discussed widely before, including that: the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. will vote this spring on an initiative to finance exports of semiconductors, biotech and energy products; the 16 Manufacturing USA institutes will begin holding roundtables on scaling technology and promoting workforce initiatives; and, the Small Business Administration will institute a new committee of industry leaders to advise the agency on startups’ innovations and challenges, as well as host a new America’s Seed Fund (i.e. Small Business Innovation Research) Start-up Expo.

The White House announcement also links to reports published today by agencies on supply chain challenges in their areas of expertise. The Department of Commerce report paints a rather bleak picture of America’s current abilities in the information and communications technology sector, identifying shortcomings in component manufacturing, cybersecurity, and workforce, as well as challenges with supply chain fragility and intellectual property theft.

In addition to the newer initiatives highlighted above, the fact sheet points to previously-announced initiatives as important to the administration’s agenda. These initiatives include the continued implementation of infrastructure funding (including Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs) and the State Small Business Credit Initiative, as well as policies included in the COMPETES/USICA bills still being considered in Congress.