Biden wants US to produce more of its own pandemic supplies
Source: AP
By WILL WEISSERT
WASHINGTON (AP) Joe Biden is promising to shift production of medical equipment and other key pandemic-fighting products back to U.S. soil, creating jobs and bolstering a domestic supply chain he says has been exposed as inadequate and vulnerable by the coronavirus outbreak.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominees campaign released a plan Tuesday to reinforce stockpiles of a range of critical products on which the U.S. is dangerously dependent on foreign suppliers in places like China and Russia. That includes medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, but also energy and grid resilience technologies, semiconductors and key electronics, as well as telecommunications infrastructure and raw materials.
It marked the Biden campaigns most comprehensive statements yet on how it would better equip the nation to fight the coronavirus and future pandemics and other threats though the proposal did not include specifics on how much doing so would cost. If elected in November, Biden promises to initiate immediately a 100-day review of critical national security risks across Americas international supply chain, while asking Congress to create a permanent, mandatory review process.
The former vice president envisions creating a critical supply chains workforce that would be part of a larger job creation and economic recovery plan his team has spent weeks promising it will soon release.
Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden puts on a face mask to protect against the spread of the new coronavirus as he departs after speaking at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, June 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Read more: https://apnews.com/642660dbc67fbb16260a27f2f89418d8
intrepidity
(7,241 posts)That this hasn't already been done this year is inexcusable.
fleur-de-lisa
(14,616 posts)And a president with a couple of functioning brain cells.
iluvtennis
(19,758 posts)Phoenix61
(16,954 posts)willing and able to make PPE. He just wanted a contract long enough to make it financially viable to start up an additional line. He was very reasonable. He just wasnt willing to invest that much, hire a bunch of people, then have to fire them in a couple of months.
Champp
(2,114 posts)Republicans won't stand for that.
cp
(6,543 posts)The more positive Democrats and Biden can be, the better. Feel that Americans are mighty thirsty for sensible, positive ideas, including kindness.
Raven123
(4,716 posts)OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)Is it the Congress review process, that is different?
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/05/19/2020-10953/delegating-authority-under-the-defense-production-act-to-the-chief-executive-officer-of-the-united
Steelrolled
(2,022 posts)I have wondered about this, because I think we need rules (similar to defense contracts) that require domestic production. I don't care who does it, just get it done. I doubt there is any opposition.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)Agent orange doesn't like Congress. Certainly he wouldn't want reviews.
CousinIT
(9,151 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,283 posts)N95 masks, ok.
Also, pharmaceuticals, electronics, steel, etc. We get too much from China, who seems to be increasingly belligerent around the world.
Problem is, those are hard to produce without creating pollution. China seems to be willing to live with the byproducts of industry.
ancianita
(35,816 posts)TomCADem
(17,378 posts)...it should not be a tariff, because that just raises the costs overall. Instead, there should be a subsidy that is financed by a lower, more general tariff overall that is used to subsidize domestic makers of critical medical supplies.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)Prohibited subsidies: subsidies that require recipients to meet certain export targets, or to use domestic goods instead of imported goods. They are prohibited because they are specifically designed to distort international trade, and are therefore likely to hurt other countries trade. They can be challenged in the WTO dispute settlement procedure where they are handled under an accelerated timetable. If the dispute settlement procedure confirms that the subsidy is prohibited, it must be withdrawn immediately. Otherwise, the complaining country can take counter measures. If domestic producers are hurt by imports of subsidized products, countervailing duty can be imposed.
https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm8_e.htm
TomCADem
(17,378 posts)This would be a subsidy for an essential good targeted for domestic consumption. Now, if the U.S. subsidizing goods to dump them into another country to wipe out competition, then that would be impermissible for obvious reasons.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,029 posts)obamanut2012
(25,911 posts)Including the Pine Ridge Reservation, until they were outsourced.
Place some of these businesses there, in ex coal country, etc.