For decades, global supply chains have become increasingly integral to the US economy andhave been embraced by business and successive US Administrations because they increaseefficiency and US competitiveness. But over the past several years, criticism has grownbeyond the argument that US jobs are being exported to include concern about a morehostile and competitive global landscape.1

Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and lockdowns were imposed. Production in generalwas disrupted, shutting down suppliers and interrupting transportation channels; foreigngovernments closed their borders or hoarded crucial supplies for their own peoples.2Prominently, lifesaving supplies—including personal protective equipment (PPE) andpharmaceutical production commodities, often sourced from abroad—were in short supply,putting frontline health care workers at even greater risk and complicating vaccine distribution.3 And then, as the pandemic began to ease and demand for goods increased, theenormous container ship Ever Given was grounded in the Suez Canal for six days, bringingmuch of goods transport around the world to a grinding halt and raising fears of evengreater supply chain bottlenecks and commercial chaos.4