Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis Grant Harris Travels to Los Angeles to Advance Partnerships for Commerce’s Critical Supply Chain Resilience Efforts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 6, 2023
Contact: Office of Public Affairs
Email: publicaffairs@trade.gov
Phone: 202-482-3809

WASHINGTON – From October 10-11, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis Grant T. Harris will visit the Los Angeles and Orange County area in California to promote the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to building long-term resilience across critical supply chains. Assistant Secretary Harris will meet with various stakeholders, from local business leaders to academia and elected officials to gather input on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s ongoing supply chain work, including priorities of the recently established Supply Chain Center, which is housed within the Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA). 

On October 10, Assistant Secretary Harris will visit the Port of Los Angeles to meet with port officials and learn more about their work addressing residual supply chain bottlenecks spurred by the pandemic as well as their current priorities. The day will conclude with Assistant Secretary Harris meeting with local businesses and stakeholders in a session hosted by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce to hear their individual inputs and recommendations for advancing supply chain resiliency in the Indo-Pacific region, including through the proposed Supply Chain Agreement negotiated under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).

On October 11, Assistant Secretary Harris will join thought leaders and industry innovators at the MedTech Conference in Anaheim, where he will participate on a panel titled Navigating National Security: Supply Chain Resilience, Industrial Strategy, and Impact on the Medical Device Industry, to discuss issues affecting the medical device business environment in key markets. Assistant Secretary Harris’ final stop will be at the Milken Institute, where he will engage with leading academics regarding the vision of the recently established Supply Chain Center and its workstreams, including with respect to data analytics.  

“The United States needs sustainable, resilient and secure supply chains to compete effectively in the global economy,” said Assistant Secretary Harris. “That is why the U.S. Department of Commerce established the Supply Chain Center and is interested in hearing from stakeholders to further assess how we can better leverage our industry expertise, data and analytics to anticipate and mitigate global supply chain challenges.”

About the Supply Chain Center
Housed within ITA’s Industry and Analysis business unit, the Supply Chain Center is a first-of-its-kind analytic engine that helps drive U.S. government decision making on efforts to strengthen supply chain resilience. The Center leverages quantitative data and advanced analytics to help make the government’s supply chain work more proactive.

About the International Trade Administration
The International Trade Administration (ITA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. Operating in more than 100 U.S. locations and 80 markets worldwide, ITA promotes trade and investment, assists U.S. businesses and workers to export and expand globally, and ensures fair trade and compliance by enforcing U.S. trade laws and agreements. For more information on ITA, visit www.trade.gov.