Three nations will develop an early warning pilot to assess disruptions to supply chains in the telecommunications sector
WASHINGTON – This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United Kingdom (U.K.)’s Department for Business and Trade of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Australia’s Department of Industry, Science, and Resources established the United States-United Kingdom-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group to enhance efforts to combat threats to critical supply chains.
The Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group will develop an early warning pilot focused on the telecommunications sector. This sector, including satellite and subsea communications, is critical to the shared economic security of the three participating nations. The pilot program will identify and monitor potential disruptions to supply chains in the telecommunications sector. It will also enhance global understanding of the vulnerabilities in the sector and develop communications channels for sharing this information and facilitating cooperative responses to disruptions.
Telecommunications infrastructure is vital to the distribution of public safety information, emergency services, and the day to day lives of many citizens. For example, undersea fiberoptic cables carry over 95% of transoceanic data traffic without which smartphones, financial networks, and communications systems would cease to function reliably.
“The resilience of our critical supply chains is a homeland security and economic security imperative,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Collaboration with international partners allows us to anticipate and mitigate disruptions before they occur. Our new U.S.-U.K.-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group will help ensure that our communities continue to have the essential goods and services they need, when they need them.”
The U.K. and Australia are the first countries to formalize cooperation with DHS’ Supply Chain Resilience Center through a Memorandum of Understanding. Established in 2023, the Supply Chain Resilience Center works to analyze supply chain vulnerabilities alongside federal partners and private sector stakeholders to mitigate potential disruptions, ensuring the delivery of essential goods and services to American citizens.
The U.K’s Economic Security and Supply Chain Resilience Directorate, housed in the Department for Business and Trade, oversees efforts to mitigate supply-side risks to the U.K. economy and support greater long-term resilience. Australia’s Office of Supply Chain Resilience, housed in the Department for Industry, Science, and Resources, focuses on mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities and ensuring ongoing access to essential goods and services. These offices participating in the Memorandum of Understanding are not direct DHS counterparts, but their mission areas include significant overlap with respect to supply chain resilience issues. This partnership reflects the multifaceted nature of supply chain challenges and draws on the wide-ranging expertise represented between the three participants.
“The United States has recently felt effects of supply chain disruptions around the world, which is why working with our allies to secure our supply chains is more critical than ever,” said Under Secretary for Policy Robert Silvers. “By establishing the U.S.- U.K.-Australia Supply Chain Resilience Cooperation Group and developing our early warning system, we are setting the groundwork to anticipate supply chain disruptions and build resilience before our nations are affected by shortages of critical goods.”
“Strong supply chains are essential for our economic security, and we cannot rely purely on the invisible hand of the market to deliver them,” said U.K. Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security Douglas Alexander. “Improved cooperation between our three nations will help us to identify and mitigate disruption to supply chains and better support U.K. businesses trading internationally.”
The Supply Chain Resilience Center, established in November 2023, serves as a hub for key U.S. government and industry partners to come together to anticipate, analyze, and plan for potential supply chain disruptions. It is supported by personnel from DHS Headquarters, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who bring extensive supply chain knowledge and expertise, and who are in regular contact with industry and other stakeholders.