The Quad leaders have renewed their commitment to promote a free, open, rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said on Thursday, while emphasising that the US is funding USD 500 million to help American companies manufacture solar panels in India.
In November 2017, the US, Australia, India and Japan gave shape to the long-pending proposal of setting up the Quad to develop a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence, amidst China's growing military presence in the strategic region.
A detailed report issued by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, on the first anniversary of the presidential executive order on America's Supply Chain, prominently notes the importance of Quad and other international partners in addressing the supply chain issue.
"Australia, India, Japan, and the United States are committed to promoting the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond," the White House report said.
The report states that the US is funding USD 500 million to help American companies manufacture solar panels in India.
"Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is actively pursuing investments overseas that will strengthen key US and international supply chains, such as the DFC's December 2021 announcement that it would provide up to USD 500 million in financing for a US company to expand solar manufacturing in India," it said.
This builds on domestic investments to expand solar manufacturing in the United States, the report stated.
"This group is working together on building open and secure supply chains for vaccine production, establishing responsible and resilient clean-energy supply chains and launching a green shipping network, and focusing on critical and emerging technology - including a joint semiconductor supply chain mapping initiative," it said.
The Biden-Harris Administration has been working with the Congress, our international allies and partners, and the private sector to expand available supplies of the microelectronics, or semiconductor chips, that go into cars, smart phones, medical equipment, and our broadband and power infrastructure, it said.
Securing the critical minerals that the United States will need to make a clean energy transition, build next-generation defense systems, and fuel our manufacturing economy will be the work of decades, it said.
In a fact sheet, the White House said President Biden is committed to working with US trading partners to address the immediate supply chain challenges from this unprecedented economic recovery and building long-term supply chain resilience for the future.
"Later this year, the Biden-Harris Administration will host a Ministerial-level Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience to address near-term bottlenecks and tackle long-term challenges, building on the Summit on Global Supply Chain Resilience that President Biden held in October with the European Union and over a dozen like-minded countries," it added.
