On December 17, 2020, the US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a “Prohibition Order Securing Critical Defense Facilities“ (the “Prohibition Order”) pursuant to authority granted to the Secretary of Energy by Executive Order 13920 (the “BPS EO“). As of January 16, 2021, the Prohibition Order prohibits certain electric utilities that serve certain defense facilities from acquiring, importing, transferring, or installing identified bulk-power system (“BPS”) equipment and related software produced or supplied by entities subject to China’s ownership, control, or influence. The Prohibition Order is limited in scope and only applies to certain utilities and a subset of BPS equipment that has a nexus to China, although DOE is anticipated to engage in additional rulemaking in the near future.
The DOE’s Prohibition Order is part of a larger effort by the US Government to implement supply-chain security measures that are likely to continue with the Biden Administration. On January 19, 2021, the US Commerce Department published interim final rules to implement Executive Order 13873 related to “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain.” We previously blogged about the implementation of that Order here and here. On the same date, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order 13984 related to “Taking Additional Steps to Address the National Emergency with Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities.”
To read the full article, please go to our Sanctions and Export Controls Update website.
