How Should Procurement Teams Prepare
Strategic Priority: Supply Chains as Front-Line Security
The 2025 NSS signals that economic and technological supply chains are now core components of national defense strategy. It emphasizes securing independent access to critical minerals and resilient access to AI and semiconductor inputs — directly linking supply chain security to national prosperity and defense capabilities.
What does mean for supply chain leaders:
Governments and corporations will likely treat supply chain design as strategic risk management, not just cost optimization.
Visibility into global rare earth production becomes an informational priority.
FRDM AI’s Unified Compliance Platform
Export Controls & Tech Competition Framework
The NSS reasserts export controls as a key tool in shaping global technology competition — particularly between the U.S. and China. Historically, export controls have limited sensitive technology flows to safeguard dual-use capabilities.
Current Landscape
- The U.S. has adjusted policies on advanced semiconductor and AI exports as part of broader diplomatic negotiations.
- China has independently expanded export controls on rare earths and advanced materials, amplifying its leverage in global markets.
Where Is this Going?
The strategy frames export controls not just as defensive measures but as instruments of geopolitical leverage tied to alliances, market access, and regulatory alignment with like-minded states.
China in the National Security Strategy
While the NSS softens ideological rhetoric toward China compared with earlier strategic documents, it still frames technological competition — especially in areas like AI, semiconductors, and supply chains — as central to U.S. national interest.
External Views
- Some analysts in China interpret the NSS as a blueprint for maintaining U.S. primacy without ideological confrontation.
What To Remember
- Investment flows: Increasing regulatory reviews of outbound capital in dual-use sectors.
- AI and next-gen computing: Tightened scrutiny on compute exports and standards to limit competitive advantage erosion.
- Critical minerals & rare earths: Expanded focus on diversifying supply chains outside dominant sources.
Supply Chain Transparency Is Required
- Expect tighter compliance expectations tied to export control regimes and supply chain transparency.
- Government incentives may increasingly favor on-shore production and trusted partner ecosystems.
- Export control policy will be treated as an integrated tool with trade, diplomacy, and industrial policy.
What To Remember
Supply chain security is now national security.
Export controls are evolving into geopolitical negotiation tools.
Strategic alignment with allies on export policy is prioritized.
China remains the focal competitor in technology and supply policy debates.
