Trump invokes Defense Production Act to boost weapons manufacturing

President Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to address constraints in the production of munitions, according to a presidential memo released on Tuesday. The war against Iran has highlighted concerns over munitions stockpiles and rates of production. The memo delegates the Defense Secretary to use the Defense Production Act, which can be used to jumpstart production of key items. The memo says the mechanism is warranted because fragile supply chains and production bottlenecks may "impair the ability" for the U.S. to expand the availability of munitions, missiles and equipment required for the national defense. The memo — which says it is scheduled to be formally published on Wednesday — invoked a section of the 1950 law that allows the government and private firms to forge "voluntary agreements and plans of action to help provide for the national defense." "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," Michael Cadenazzi, the assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, said about the Defense Production Act at a Center for New American Security event on Tuesday. …