Among US-manufactured items seen as vital across multiple industries which increasingly came up in short supply as demand increased faster than expected amid the coronavirus pandemic have been semiconductor chips and large-capacity batteries for electric vehicles.

The chip shortage has most immediately and severely hit US automakers to the point of having to in many cases halt production and furlough workers amid the supply bottleneck. "The supply disruptions threaten to harm U.S. economic growth and could lead to layoffs, prompting concern from the White House as Biden seeks to rebuild an economy battered by the coronavirus," Bloomberg writes.

On Wednesday President Biden will sign an executive order which seeks to address the global semiconductor chip shortage after a session with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss the growing crisis. "Make no mistake, we're not simply planning to order up reports. We are planning to take actions to close gaps as we identify them," an administration official said.