The Ag Council and other California trade associations have called upon Governor Gavin Newsom to take further action after he released an executive order on the supply chain.

"Between labor shortages and pandemic-related delays in our already fragile supply chain, it is critical that the state assist in removing the barriers to goods movement in the immediate term and the long term," Ag Council President Emily Rooney said.

"Ag Council stands ready to work with the governor and his team to alleviate challenges while recognizing the federal government has a big role to play as well."

The joint statement from Ag Council, California Business Roundtable, California Retailers Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses (California), and several other associations said that while they supported Newsom's response to the crisis, the executive order is only a "first step in addressing the crisis happening at every level of the supply chain".

"There are additional real, tangible actions the governor could take to meet the moment and tackle this crisis head-on, but convening taskforces in 2022, delaying urgent actions for at least a month, and pushing funding discussions to the January budget proposal do not provide the sense of urgency needed to address this crisis now," the statement said.

“Medical supplies, component parts for manufacturing, diapers and basic household necessities are sitting off the coast or in containers at the ports, while California-grown agricultural products are waiting to exported around the world.

"Bureaucratic red tape and regulatory hurdles created this current crisis and must be addressed in both the short and long-term in order to allow the goods movement sector to move commerce in and out of our ports and drive our economy and job recovery forward.”