Commerce Seeks Supply Chain Input

The Department of Commerce  seeks public comment to inform its work on assessing and analyzing risk in global supply chains. The deadline is June 21.

This includes input into a determination of an initial list of “critical sectors” and “key goods” as provided under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement Relating to Supply Chain Resilience. The United States' initial list will be shared with the IPEF Supply Chain Council members and will inform work undertaken pursuant to the Agreement.

Comments will also inform other analytical tools and methodologies developed by Commerce's Industry & Analysis unit to support resilient supply chains for U.S. industry.

Background

The Industry & Analysis (I&A) unit in the International Trade Administration and the Supply Chain Center are building a cross-sectoral risk assessment framework..

The goal is to help the U.S. government more comprehensively and systematically identify supply chain vulnerabilities and pursue in-depth analysis for actionable and evidence-based policy recommendations.

The Center has been consulting with relevant external stakeholders in the development of this tool as well, including reaching out to dozens of industry and academic experts.

The Center is also leveraging analytic tools for targeted scans of critical sectors; expanding its ability to model scenarios and evaluate the potential impacts of proposed policy actions; and deepening its proactive analysis through case studies and replicable and scalable frameworks and toolkits for supply chain analysis and policy action.

IPEF List of Critical Sectors and Key Goods

The Indo Pacific Economic Framework Supply Chain Agreement. was entered into force on February 24, 2024 and counts among its members six partners—Japan, the United States, Singapore, Fiji, India, and the Republic of Korea

Article 10 of the Supply Chain Agreement requires the development of initial lists of “critical sectors” and “key goods,” which will then be shared through the Supply Chain Council.

Article 1 of the Supply Chain Agreement provides the following definitions of “critical sectors” and “key goods”:

• critical sectors means sectors that produce goods and supply any related essential services critical to a Party's national security, public health and safety, or prevention of significant or widespread economic disruptions, as identified by that Party in accordance with Article 10;
• key goods means raw, in-process, or manufactured materials, articles, or commodities, the absence of which could have a significant effect on a Party's national security, public health and safety, or prevention of significant or widespread economic disruptions, as identified by that Party in accordance with Article 10;

Request for Written Comments

Commerce seeks broad input from all interested stakeholders, including U.S. industry, researchers, labor organizations, academia, and civil society.

Topics

General Methodology Questions (To Inform Commerce's Supply Chain Risk Assessment Framework)

• What tools, approaches, and methodologies do you recommend that Commerce utilize in order to identify priority products and sectors at elevated risk of supply chain disruption, particularly those of relevance to the United States based on national security, including economic security?
• More specifically, what definitions, indicators, and data sets do you recommend that Commerce use to evaluate the following aspects of supply chain risk:

○ Criticality of the product or sector to the United States

○ Vulnerability of the product or sector to supply chain disruption

○ Resiliency of the product or sector in the face of a supply chain disruption

• What tools, approaches, and methodologies could Commerce use to assess a supply chain's areas of greatest vulnerability? How can those vulnerabilities be quantified and tracked over time?
• What factors influence your organization's evaluation of risk in your supply chains? What additional data, information, or analysis from the U.S. government would you view as valuable in this assessment?
• How should the U.S. government leverage technological advancements to foster data collection, analysis, and dissemination for both public and private entities?
• What data, indicia, or criteria might help Commerce identify those supply chains where the market would be least likely to prevent or quickly resolve a disruption?

IPEF-Related Questions (To Inform the U.S. List of Critical Sectors and Key Goods Under the Supply Chain Agreement)

• How should Commerce assess “significant or widespread economic disruptions” for purposes of the Supply Chain Agreement? What thresholds or metrics should Commerce consider in assessing the risk of such disruptions for the purposes of identifying critical sectors and key goods?
• Which, if any, of the factors listed in Article 10 of the Supply Chain Agreement should Commerce prioritize in making its determinations of critical sectors or key goods for cooperation under the Supply Chain Agreement? Please offer a justification.
• In your view, bearing in mind the seven factors outlined above, what sectors and goods best fit the criteria for “critical sectors” and “key goods” for cooperation under the Supply Chain Agreement and why?
• For those sectors and goods that Commerce should consider “critical sectors” and “key goods” for cooperation under the Supply Chain Agreement, what types of activities, either by governments, by companies, or via public-private cooperation, would be most valuable to the private sector?

To be assured of consideration, submit any written comments by the June 21 deadline. All submissions must be in English. Commerce strongly encourages submissions via Regulations.gov. Commerce may consider comments filed after the deadline. The docket number is 240530-0148.

[89 FR 47536]