ASME Manufacturing Public Policy Task Force Authors White Paper on Global Supply Chain Disruptions and Covid-19

The ASME Manufacturing Public Policy Task Force authored a white paper on the “Hazards of Global Supply Chains.” The paper discusses the supply chain disruptions that occurred following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and how factors such as offshoring and outsourcing contributed to global shortages of key supplies in the months immediately following the outbreak. The paper also explains the role a strong manufacturing sector can play in bolstering economies against future disruptions of similar scale, and how to establish a domestic manufacturing industry capable of such fortification.

The white paper notes the increasing trend toward global interconnectedness across economies, and notes that while governments play a key role in developing policies that will help strengthen their infrastructure and economies, greater support of small and medium-manufacturers is also integral to sustainable new practices.

Along with setting the stage for how and why supply chains across industries and geographic regions saw such significant disruptions, the white paper also delves into the policy side of what happened. It lays out a set of recommendations for strengthening manufacturing and foreign relations policies to provide the U.S. with the tools to overcome similar challenges in the future.

The white paper can be viewed in its entirety on the ASME position statements webpage: https://www.asme.org/government-relations/position-statements.