The new U.S. policy, unveiled by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in Switzerland, is called the "National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security." The White House document signed by Obama and provided to The Associated Press says potential economic threats to goods dependent on supplies from beyond U.S. borders are now a matter of national security and that the government must "resolve threats early."

"When the unknown occurs, you have no time," Napolitano said at the World Economic Forum.

The White House "strategy" is not an executive order. But it sets into motion planning and other efforts by federal agencies to be prepared for incidents that threaten supply chain — including enlisting the cooperation of other nations in the process. It follows a series of major natural disasters whose effects spilled beyond one nation's borders, and has far-reaching implications.

It not only would apply to all cargo goods entering the country by ship, airplane or truck — the U.S. already inspects all of what it considers to be the highest-risk cargo — but also could set the stage for U.S. action to strengthen the security provided in other countries.

All "cyber and energy networks" also are affected.

The policy has been two years in the making. Napolitano traced momentum for it to a 2010 attempt by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to send explosive devices hidden in printer toner cartridges aboard U.S.-bound cargo planes.

"That really brought to the forefront of my own recognition that we need to have a sense of urgency about the importance of the global supply chain," she said. "Of course, my interest is in a plane bound for the United States. The world's interest is in any plane whatsoever."

Businesses have often sought to cut costs by farming out many parts of their operations, leaving them potentially more at risk to disruptions outside the confines of their traditional areas of management. But with the economy increasingly globalized, businesses are becoming more dependent on each other — and more exposed to these risks.

"The global supply chain provides the food, medicine, energy and products that support our way of life," the document says.

"Many different entities are responsible for or reliant upon the functioning of the global supply chain, including regulators, law enforcement, public-sector buyers, private-sector business, and other foreign and domestic partners," it says. "The system relies upon an interconnected web of transportation infrastructure and pathways, information technology, and cyber and energy networks."

Daniel J. Brutto, president of UPS International, said more such cooperation internationally would not only address supply chain threats but also speed up trade. "Many countries want a paper chain system, an archaic system, that slows down commerce," he said. "When there are disruptions, you are penalized very strongly and I don't think the financial institutions take that into account."

The Obama administration cites as reasons for the policy the 9/11 attacks and more recent plots involving air cargo shipments filled with explosives shipped via Europe and the Middle East to the United States, according to White House documents.

Other events that have led to the change, the documents say, include Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007, Iceland's volcanic eruption in 2010 and Japan's earthquake and tsunami last year.

Obama, in a preface to the new policy, which is effective immediately, said that "the global supply chain system that supports this trade is essential to the United States' economy and security and is a critical global asset."

Source: Houston Chronicle