Why the US Needs a National Advanced Industry and Technology Agency

With the rise of China, the US economic and technology environment has fundamentally and inexorably changed. The most important step Congress and the Biden administration can take to meet the challenge is to create a dedicated national advanced industry and technology agency. This new agency, ideally as large as the National Science Foundation, would lead a number of core tasks; these would include analyzing US industry strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and responding with well-resourced solutions including support for domestic research and development and production partnerships and investment in advanced research facilities. The new National Advanced Industry and Technology Agency should have five divisions: data and analysis, advanced industries, emerging technologies, innovation systems, and cross-agency and cross-government coordination. We recognize the political difficulty of creating any new agency given committee conflicts, views that such reorganization is difficult, and resistance by some to larger government. However, the US lacks and desperately needs a free-standing federal entity whose sole mission is supporting advanced technology industry development in order to help America compete with China long-term.