President Trump has issued five determinations under section 303 of the Defense Production Act to increase domestic production of petroleum, natural gas and coal.

The Defense Production Act dates back to 1950 and confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense. The authorities can be used across the federal government to shape the domestic industrial base so that, when called upon, it is capable of providing essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.

The new Presidential Determinations are on the following topics:

• Domestic Petroleum Capacity, Refining and Logistics Capacity;

• Grid Infrastructure, Equipment and Supply Chain Capacity;

• Coal Supply Chains and Baseload Power Capacity;

• Development, Manufacturing and Deploying of Large-Scale Energy and Energy-Related Infrastructure; and

• Natural Gas Transmission, Storage and Liquified Natural Gas Capacity.

The documents declare a state of emergency and provide that domestic petroleum production, refining, and logistics capacity, including exploration and production, gathering and transmission pipelines, storage, and marine terminals, are industrial resources, materials, or critical technology essential to the national defense. As such, action to expand the domestic petroleum production, refining, and logistics capacity is necessary to avert a critical shortfall.

In addition, the documents declare America’s aging and constrained electric grid infrastructure poses an increasing threat to national defense. Supply chains for large-scale grid infrastructure, including transformers, high-voltage transmission components, advanced conductors, power electronics, substations, and grid-supporting manufacturing equipment face significant risks from foreign competition, long production lead times, and an overreliance on imported equipment.