Government Accountability Office- Defense Industrial Base: Actions Needed to Address Risks Posed by Dependence on Foreign Suppliers

Abstract

The January 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy stated that the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) dependence on adversarial sources for goods it procures is a mounting national security challenge. These suppliers may cut off U.S. access to critical materials or provide “back doors” in their technology that serve as intelligence pathways. The Conference Report and a House Report for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 include provisions for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the DOD’s dependence on foreign entities and its processes for determining whether it is procuring goods from China. This report, among other things, (1) describes the information that government procurement data contains on the country of origin of goods that the DOD procures, and (2) assesses DOD actions to collect additional data. To conduct this work, the GAO analyzed government procurement data from fiscal years 2020 through 2024, reviewed DOD documents, and interviewed DOD officials and contractor representatives.