DoD seeks input on DFARS printed circuit board restrictions
DoD is asking before it writes, leaving the real scope inside the future DFARS text.
TL;DR
DoD is seeking information for a Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement revision to implement fiscal 2021 and 2022 National Defense Authorization Act sections on prohibiting acquisition of covered printed circuit boards from a covered nation. The immediate audience is the DoD acquisition and supplier community tied to PCB procurement. The notice starts the DFARS drafting work; it does not supply the final clause text.
DoD's notice is an information-gathering step, not a final DFARS clause. The department says it is developing a Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement revision to implement National Defense Authorization Act sections for fiscal 2021 and 2022 that address a prohibition on acquiring covered printed circuit boards from a covered nation. That is the operational point for now: the restriction is moving through acquisition rules, and the scope sits in text DoD has not yet issued.
The useful context is that DoD already regulates parts sourcing in DFARS. Current DFARS policy for electronic parts requires contractors and subcontractors at all tiers, with exceptions, to obtain electronic parts from original manufacturers, authorized aftermarket manufacturers, authorized suppliers, or contractor-approved suppliers subject to review and audit (https://origin-www.acquisition.gov/dfars/246.870-2-policy). The printed-circuit-board notice sits in that supply-chain neighborhood, but the supplied notice text does not provide the definitions, deadline or clause mechanics.
For contractors, the safe read is procedural restraint. This notice is a chance to shape the DFARS text before it hardens. It does not, by itself, supply a final compliance deadline, certification language or contract clause.
Published ·Deep Fathom