Securing sovereign supply chains for national security: PwC

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and its allies had been able to rely on overwhelming military superiority to maintain national security. With rising geopolitical tensions and near peer powers, national security now depends on sovereignty throughout various  aspects of society—food, water, energy, industrial manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and infrastructure. 

After more than three decades of rapid global economic integration, the world economy has reached a structural turning point. Since 2008, trade has plateaued at about 60% of global GDP, signaling a limit to hyperglobalization. At the same time, US import dependence has grown, as the US trade deficit widened from about 0.5% of GDP in the early 1990s to roughly 3% today. The nation now faces a transition into a new era defined by AI-driven digital transformation, persistent geopolitical uncertainties, and unpredictable fluctuations in tariffs and trade. 

Governments are exerting multiple pressures on businesses to reconceive their supply networks through the lens of renewed sovereignty. Resilience increasingly outweighs efficiency. 

The United States remains among the most self-reliant advanced economies. Yet, the global COVID-19 pandemic and sustained international conflicts have highlighted supply-chain vulnerabilities across industrial sectors. At the same time, these issues have also revealed opportunities. By strengthening your supply network strategy, you can not only secure your own business but support economic stability, protect public well-being, and enable effective responses to unforeseen disruption. 

Building resilience depends on four interlocking priorities.  

Securing strategic sources and enhancing manufacturing capabilities 
Advancing energy independence and technological evolution 
Strengthening cybersecurity 
Developing a skilled and future-ready workforce

Securing strategic sources and enhancing manufacturing capabilities 

Achieving supply-network sovereignty will likely depend on sustained, public-private collaborations to scale innovation, modernize permitting, and strengthen allied partnerships—particularly in semiconductors, critical minerals, and other strategic sectors. 

US semiconductor production as a percentage of global output fell from 37% in 1990 to just 12% in 2020. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 marked a significant step toward revitalizing domestic semiconductor capacity and research. The federal government has also tightened export controls and introduced complementary policy actions that restrict foreign competitors’ access to advanced US semiconductor technologies, supporting broader efforts to secure domestic capacity and allied supply chains. 

Similar challenges exist in critical minerals. The United States once led the world in rare earth elements (REEs) production but has been >95% net import reliant in recent years. Global demand for critical minerals used in clean technologies, including REEs, is projected by the International Energy Agency to grow substantially over the next decade. To help meet the need, several US mines are scheduled to open in the next several years, including an REE project at Halleck Creek, Wyoming. Currently at the exploratory stage, the Wyoming site has an estimated 2.6 billion tons of REE ore—enough to supply the US for tens of thousands of years at 2024 levels of consumption. Further, the United States and Australia recently established a joint framework to secure the mining and processing of critical minerals and rare earths. Additionally, US financial institutions have mobilized $8.5 billion in financing commitments to strengthen allied supply chains and reduce dependence on suppliers operating in non-market economies.¹

Advancing energy independence and technological evolution 

Long-term energy resilience hinges on balancing reliability, affordability, and decarbonization. The good news is that these are areas in which innovation and policy alignment can drive sustainable advantages. 

By 2019, the country became an annual net total energy exporter and is today the world’s largest oil producer. Yet as the digital economy accelerates, energy demand continues to rise. Sustained investment in both production and infrastructure is vital, alongside diversification toward cleaner and more distributed sources. 

Nuclear energy is reemerging as an important component of the clean energy mix. Since 2023, two large US reactors have come online—the first in more than 30 years. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are gaining traction, offering scalable and offgrid energy solutions. Recently, bilateral agreements among Canadian provincial governments to promote SMR technology were drawn up with the explicit aim of influencing federal policy,² potentially providing a model that some US states could adapt.  

Strengthening cybersecurity 

Even with sovereign control over energy and materials, the economy remains vulnerable to cyber threats. Building trust in digital infrastructure requires not only advanced technologies, but shared governance models that prioritize transparency and agility.  Persistent and evolving attacks underscore the need for continuous vigilance. Government agencies often play a crucial role in detecting, sharing, and mitigating cyber risks, but enduring resilience requires deep collaboration between the public and private sectors to help secure and modernize digital infrastructure.  

Operation Cronos—a major international law enforcement operation that took down LockBit, the world’s biggest ransomware operation to date—could provide a model. The initiative was led by the UK’s National Crime Agency in collaboration with the FBI, Europol, and other law enforcement agencies in multiple countries, alongside several private cybersecurity firms. Operation Cronos reveals the value of trusted, established systems of public-private information sharing to coordinate a rapid response to a global threat. Likewise, the participants’ insistence on transparent guidance and measurable outcomes shows that purely advisory notices sent to potential victims of cybercrime no longer suffice—and that the tools exist to surpass that obsolete standard. 

Developing a skilled and future-ready workforce

Investing in workforce development is now a strategic imperative, so that critical sectors have the talent needed to support innovation and resilience. The data center industry is witnessing staggering growth. In the United States alone, the market has grown to an estimated $138 billion,³ yet more than half of operators report difficulty hiring and retaining qualified staff.⁴ Expanding the talent pool demands sustained investment and coordinated action. Government and industry partnerships can promote trade and technical careers through training reimbursements, tax incentives, and public campaigns that highlight these high-demand, AI-resilient roles as imperative to national security and economic vitality. 

Supply network sovereignty: Beyond onshoring and reshoring 

Securing sovereign supply chains is a complex, shared responsibility that spans government and industry. Effective supply-chain resilience strategies should be more holistic, diversified, and nuanced than merely mandating or incentivizing more domestic production.  Only through proactive strategic planning, sustained investment, and collaboration among allied nations can the United States strengthen its resilience, safeguard its essential infrastructure, and sustain growth in a rapidly changing world. 

^{[1]. Seung Min Kim and Aamer Madhani, “US and Australia sign critical-minerals agreement as a way to counter China,” Associated Press, 20 0ct. 2025; accessed via Factiva, 5 Nov. 2025.

[2]. “Ontario and Nova Scotia team up on SMRs,” Nuclear Engineering International, 31 Oct. 2025; accessed via Factiva, 5 Nov. 2025.

[3] DC Market Insights, U.S. Data Center Market to Hit USD 3,81,750.98 Mn by 2035, Growing at 10.65% CAGR, press release, November 5 2025.

[4] Uptime Institute, Uptime’s 13th Annual Global Data Center Survey Shows Widening Range of Challenges, press release, July 18 2023.}