Jerry McGinn: Reshoring Critical US Industrial Capabilities Needs Little Help From Allies

Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Center for Government Contracting at George Mason University’s School of Business and GovCon Expert for Executive Mosaic, wrote in a commentary published Tuesday on Defense News that the U.S. should reshore critical industrial capabilities by building domestic capacity and working with close partners and allies.

“The solution is not an autarkic ‘Buy America’-only approach that would be counterproductive to our long-term economic health,” he wrote. “Instead, we need to have a laser focus on getting out of the China business with respect to industrial capabilities critical to national security and, in many cases, doing that with a little help from our friends.”

McGinn cited the government’s use of the Defense Production Act authority to address gaps in the industrial base during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and how DPA could serve as a key tool to help expand the domestic production of defense capabilities, personal protective equipment and pharmaceuticals.

He discussed the drawbacks of protectionist efforts and highlighted the need to use trade deals like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as an “opportunity to strengthen North American efforts to decrease dependencies on Chinese sources.”

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