President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to tighten restrictions on where defense contractors can source critical minerals and other sensitive components found in the Pentagon’s weapons arsenal.According to Peter Navarro, the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, the order will “end the waiver racket,” allowing federal defense contractors and subcontractors to bypass existing laws that prohibit sourcing certain materials from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The order takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027.
“The fighter jet, missile battery, naval vessel, radar system, drone, or armored vehicle does not begin on the factory floor of a prime contractor. It begins with minerals, metals, magnets, chips, chemicals, software, castings, and forgings — literally thousands of components moving through supply chains that stretch across the world,” Navarro said Monday. “In a major defense program, those chains may run five or six tiers deep, while government visibility often stops at the first or second.“The dangers are buried in the lower tiers: the subcontractors and vendors supplying specialty metals, electronics, chemical software, and raw materials that Washington is not watching,” he added.
