Commerce to Unveil National Security Strategy Soon, Graves Says

The Commerce Department plans to announce a “department-wide” strategy in the “weeks ahead” that will address its major priorities in national security, Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said on Jan. 9.

Graves, who spoke at the National Foreign Trade Council in Washington, D.C., noted that Commerce plays a growing role in national security, such as by administering funding from the Chips Act to increase domestic production of semiconductors used in defense and other key industries (see 2401040057). “We’re looking forward to sustaining that work and expanding all of it in the days ahead,” he said.

Graves made his comments at the formal launch of the NFTC’s Alliance for National Security and Competitiveness, which will provide industry perspectives to government officials on export controls, sanctions and investment policies. Jeannette Chu, the NFTC’s vice president for national security policy, will serve as the alliance’s executive director.

The NFTC revealed its new effort as Commerce prepares to revive an industry advisory committee that will provide input on U.S. export control regulations (see 2401080008). The alliance’s creation “couldn’t be more timely,” Graves said.