Trump invokes Cold War-era Defense Production Act for oil production, refining
US President Donald Trump determined on Oct 22 that petroleum production, refining and related activities are essential to national defence. In a presidential memo, he invoked part of the Cold War-era Defense Production Act, allowing him to provide financial incentives for oil-related activities, pipelines and storage of liquid fuels. The memo cited constrained financing, long lead times, permitting and infrastructure bottlenecks, and supply chain limitations, and did not mention specific projects that could be funded.
Why it matters: The invocation makes energy security a direct object of emergency industrial policy as crude and diesel costs surge before the Nov 3 elections.