Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures America’s Defense Supply Chains and Ensures Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Secures America’s Defense Supply Chains and Ensures Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials
SECURING AMERICA’S DEFENSE SUPPLY CHAINS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to secure America’s defense supply chains for the cutting-edge equipment that allows the U.S. to dominate the modern battlefield, particularly, the critical materials and components necessary to manufacture that equipment.
- The Order limits circumstances in which the Secretary of Defense should issue waivers for critical materials from covered nations under 10 U.S.C. 4872, including, in certain cases, requiring mitigation plans to onshore supply chains.
- The Order directs the Department of War to initiate regulatory action requiring more comprehensive supply chain mapping for critical supply chains, as designated by the Secretary of War.
- The Order encourages defense contractors to begin qualifying new domestic sources of critical minerals, materials, and components used in designated national security procurements, from domestic and partner nation sources, while also removing regulatory barriers in the qualification process.
ENDING SUPPLY UNCERTAINTY: President Trump is taking action to ensure America’s continued military dominance and that the U.S. military is the strongest and best-equipped in the world.
- The United States military is the most effective and powerful fighting force on the planet and fields the most advanced weapons systems and technologies.
- Despite longstanding prohibitions on the use of sensitive materials sourced from geopolitical adversaries, supply chain resilience and domestic production has been historically under-prioritized.
- To continue this dominance in an era of renewed great power competition, the United States must secure its supply chains against physical, cyber, and economic subversion.
RESTORING AMERICAN DOMINANCE: President Trump’s leadership has restored America’s military superiority and national security by securing reliable supplies of critical materials and supply chains.
- President Trump campaigned on the promise to rebuild America’s depleted military equipment and supplies, emphasizing the need to restore its strength and readiness after years of neglect.
- In January 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to modernize defense acquisitions and spur innovation in the defense industrial base, ensuring red tape is no longer slowing the defense industrial base’s ability to respond to emerging global threats and even basic requirements.
- In March 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to boost American mineral production, streamline permitting, and enhance national security.
- In April 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to modernize defense acquisitions and spur innovation in the defense industrial base.
- In January 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to jointly negotiate agreements with trading partners to address the threatened impairment of national security with respect to imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products (PCMDPs) from any country.
- In February 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the America First Arms Transfer Strategy to ensure that the American industrial base remains the Arsenal of Freedom for the United States and all of our partners and allies.