Trump Invokes Defense Production Act to Expand Munitions Output

President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act on Tuesday to address constraints in munitions production amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. The presidential memo delegates authority to the Defense Secretary to use the law's provisions for expanding output of missiles, munitions and related equipment.

It states that fragile supply chains and production bottlenecks may impair the ability of the U.S. to meet national defense needs.

An April analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found the U.S. may have used more than half of its inventory of four critical munitions, including Tomahawk missiles, during operations against Iran. The conflict has drawn renewed attention to long-range missile requirements that could also apply in a potential future clash with China.

Concerns over the defense industrial base emerged earlier after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when both the U.S. and Europe identified shortfalls in artillery production.

The memo invokes a section of the 1950 law allowing the government and private firms to enter voluntary agreements to support national defense. An assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy said the goal is to bring companies together to address supply chain issues.

“Sometimes we need the collective wisdom of all the assembled companies to collaborate and solve our problems for us and we want them to provide their best advice from the industrial side.”