DPA Authority Delegated to Department of Agriculture to Combat Food Supply Chain Threat

On April 28, the President signed an Executive Order on Delegating Authority Under the DPA with Respect to Food Supply Chain Resources During the National Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of COVID-19. The new EO delegates to the Department of Agriculture (“the Department”) Defense Production Act (DPA) Title I priorities and allocation authority with respect to food supply chain resources, expressly including meat and poultry, during the COVID-19 national emergency. The new EO specifies that the Department shall use this authority to ensure the continued supply of protein, specifically meat and poultry to Americans, consistent with the Center for Disease Control and Occupational Safety and Health Administration COVID-19 guidance. The EO also grants the Department authority to identify other at-risk food supply chain resources that should be subject to its Title I priorities and allocation control. This EO builds on previously-issued COVID-19 Executive Orders concerning the delegation of DPA authorities that we have previously discussed.