Besides Barra and Farley, executives from about a dozen other major companies — including Stellantis NV and chip manufacturers — are scheduled to attend the meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The summit, officially called the “CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience,” comes as part of the Biden administration’s review of a number of key supply chains, and will include addressing the semiconductor shortage and exploring ways to strengthen the U.S. supply chain.
In an executive order signed on February 27, President Joe Biden called for a 100-day review of supply chains across four key industries: semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, and large capacity batteries for electric vehicles,
Sullivan describes the chip shortage as a national security vulnerability: “The president is deeply committed to ending the silos between domestic and foreign policy, and the semiconductor shortage is a perfect example of an urgent economic and national security priority for the Biden administration.”
Back in February, according to CNBC, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: “semiconductor manufacturing is a dangerous weak spot in our economy and in our national security.”
Economic and national security issues in play
The fact that the semiconductor industry is dominated by supply chains sourced primarily from Asia is no secret, but the global coronavirus pandemic laid bare the problems associated with keeping your eggs all in one basket.
And as Sullivan noted in his statement, “Trying to address supply chains on a crisis-by-crisis basis creates critical national security vulnerabilities.”
The White House was more to the point – and looks to review and fix the gaps in domestic manufacturing and supply chains that are dominated by or run through “nations that are or are likely to become unfriendly or unstable.” And while not naming China directly, the Biden administration does want to determine how reliant the U.S. economy and military are on a critical group of Chinese exports.
According to AlixPartners, a global consulting firm, the automotive industry has lost the equivalent of 1.4 million vehicles of production globally because of the chip shortage.
Should the current trend continue, it is estimated that up to 2.5 million vehicles could be lost this year and the industry as a whole would lose $61 billion.
