The recent port strike stirred up a flurry of fears about the prices and availability of certain goods in America.

Fortunately, the strike didn't last long. But it could have been otherwise. And the incident served as a potent reminder of the fragility of global supply chains and the real-world consequences of offshoring our manufacturing.

The COVID saga provided an even more dramatic example of supply chain disruption and our dependence on foreign sources, even for such essentials as baby formula and Personal Protection Equipment (PPE).

The case of PPE deserves further attention. Our dependency on foreign producers for PPE -- underscored by COVID -- poses a threat not just to the average American consumer, but to American national security as a whole.

Heading into COVID, 95% of our surgical procedure masks, 97% of our plastic gloves, and 70% of our N95 respirators were manufactured in China, according to the Yeutter Institute. In other words, we were completely dependent on a foreign source for the front-line defenses against a pandemic.

The situation is not much better........

© International Business Times