Search results for: supply chain

On the eve of the recent government shutdown over border security, Congress and the President were in agreement on a different issue of national security:  mitigating supply chain risk.  On December 21, 2018, the President signed into law the Strengthening and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure Technology Act (the “SECURE Technology Act”) (P.L. 115-390).  The Act includes a trio of bills that were designed to strengthen the cyber defenses of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and mitigate supply chain risks in the procurement of information technology.  The last of these three bills, the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act, should be of particular interest to contractors that procure information technology-related items related to the performance of a U.S. government contract.  Among other things, the bill establishes a Federal Acquisition Security Council, which is charged with several functions, including assessing supply chain risk.  The bill also gives the Secretary of DHS, the Secretary of the Department of Defense (“DoD”) and the Director of National Intelligence authority to issue exclusion and removal orders as to sources and/or covered articles based on the Council’s recommendation.  Finally, the bill allows federal agencies to exclude sources and/or covered articles deemed to pose a supply chain risk from certain procurements.
Continue Reading Jumping to Exclusions: New Law Provides Government-Wide Exclusion Authorities to Address Supply Chain Risks

This post first appeared on Covington’s Global Policy Watch blog on September 7, 2018

Generating and sustaining the United States’ global economic and military superiority over more than the last half century has depended on a dominant U.S. global economic position and perpetual technological innovation. The United States has increasingly…
Continue Reading How Well Do You Know Your Supply Chain? New Policy Developments Affect Defense and Security Contractors

On May 11, 2017, the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission (“Commission”) issued a Request for Proposal to “to provide a one-time unclassified report on supply chain vulnerabilities from China in U.S. federal information technology (IT) procurement.”

Congress established the Commission in 2000 to monitor and report to Congress…
Continue Reading USSC Issues RFP For Report On Supply Chain IT Vulnerabilities From China

On October 30, 2015, the Department of Defense (“DoD” or the “Department”) issued a Final Rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (“DFARS”) and clarifying the scope of the DoD’s ability to evaluate and exclude contractors that represent “supply chain risks” in solicitations and contracts involving the development or delivery of IT products and services related to National Security Systems (“NSS”). The Final Rule clarifies that the DoD’s exclusion authority is limited to procurement of NSS, explains that decisions apply on a procurement-by-procurement basis, and removes the flow down requirement that was present in the Interim Rule. The Final Rule also encourages contracting officers to consider imposing a Government consent requirement for all subcontracts.  Our in-depth analysis of the Final Rule is available here.
Continue Reading DoD Issues Final Rule Addressing Exclusion of Contractors that Present Supply Chain Risk in National Security System Procurements

Supply chain protection has been a point of increasing emphasis by the Government and especially the Department of Defense (“DoD”) in recent years. In no area is this more true than ensuring that Government systems and equipment are free from counterfeit electronic parts, which can raise both security and defect concerns. DoD has accordingly taken several steps, many of which have taken the form of new requirements on contractors, to protect against counterfeit electronic parts. With these requirements has come added risk to contractors that even mistakenly use electronic parts in the goods they sell to DoD. However, an August 30, 2016, final DFARS rule (implemented at DFARS 2301.205-71) seeks to mitigate some of this risk by allowing contractors to recover the cost of replacing counterfeit electronic parts, as long as the contractor has taken certain steps to prevent the use of such parts.
Continue Reading DOD Final Rule Addresses Source Requirements and Cost Recovery for Use of Counterfeit Electronic Parts

Several months into the Department of War’s (DoW) suspension of the next phase of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program, contractors are continuing to navigate uncertainty relating to the program.  With the Department’s review underway, this post takes stock of where the program stands, what remains in effect, and what contractors should be considering.

Continue Reading CMMC Reform Task Force Updates September 2026

For decades, the United States and India circled each other as potential defense partners—aligned by democratic values and shared strategic concerns, yet separated by Cold War legacies and divergent procurement cultures.  Now, a proposed Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement (“RDPA”) promises to open each country’s military marketplace to the other’s defense…

Continue Reading The U.S.-India Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement:  A New Chapter in a Complex Relationship

On September 3, 2026 the Department of War (DoW) issued Revision 3 to its Class Deviation and associated Procedures, Guidance and Information (PGI) that implements a new Part 240 (consistent with the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul of Part 40, which we reported on in July).  Like the proposed FAR Rule, this DFARS Class Deviation addresses supply chain and information security issues but is focused on requirements that are unique for DoW contracts.  

Continue Reading DoW Issues Revision 3 of its Class Deviation on Security Requirements

On August 26, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14421, Declaring a National Emergency to Secure the United States Bulk-Power System. The Order establishes a new national security regulatory framework for a broad range of equipment, software, services, and supply chain relationships associated with the U.S. electric grid. Although the Order is framed as a grid security measure, its implications extend well beyond utilities.

Equipment manufacturers, project developers, utilities, contractors, lenders, investors, data center operators, and others participating in the energy sector may all be affected. The Order introduces new restrictions and uncertainty into energy infrastructure procurement and supply chains and, critically, it represents a fundamental shift in how the federal government approaches security risks in the energy sector.

Continue Reading The Electric Grid’s ICTS Moment? New National Security Executive Order Targets Foreign-Sourced Energy Equipment