US President Biden’s action plan and the COVID-19 response have been endorsed by the National Textile Organization Council (NCTO) along with executive orders to reinforce the supply chains of the US by ordering federal agencies to use the Defense Production Act (DPA) to resolve shortcomings in the supply of personal safety equipment(PPE)s and associated vaccines.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, American manufacturers have been at the forefront of developing a nationwide supply chain of the PPE. The US textile industry has almost overnight re-tooled manufacturing and processes, generating millions of face masks, insulation gowns, swab tests and other essential medical textiles.
The industry invests considerably in PPE automation machines, but the industry requires multi-year long-term contracts to contribute to this investment. One of the vital tools to stimulate equipment investment, encourage recruiting of U.S. employees and extend those critical supply chains is the implementation of DPA.
The Defense Department has, since it was created, used the DPA to make vital investments in facilities and capacities of home textiles, to develop privately-owned alliances through government capital investments in the framework of the DPA, and to ensure long term contract purchases.
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