United States | Wartime, all the time

A law meant to boost America’s security becomes industrial policy

Joe Biden is using the army’s procurement tool to manage the economy

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden walks past solar panels while touring the Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative in Plymouth, New Hampshire, U.S., June 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RC1B2EEF1350

Jun 16th 2022|Washington, DC

What do covid vaccines, solar power, lithium mines and infant formula have in common? In America, the answer is a wartime mobilisation law from 1950, which the government is increasingly using in an effort to boost the availability of important things in short supply. The Defence Production Act (dpa) was in the past mainly a procurement tool for the armed forces. Under Joe Biden, it is fast becoming a part of the government’s arsenal for managing the economy.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Wartime, all the time”