Trump signs order banning some foreign equipment from U.S. energy grid
The order bars purchases of certain foreign-made grid parts as officials warn of sabotage risks and hidden digital backdoors, citing rising demand from AI projects.
- On Wednesday, August 26, 2026, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and signed an executive order banning foreign-made equipment from the United States electric grid, citing an "unusual and extraordinary" security threat.
- Rapid growth in artificial intelligence and defense production has increased the country's reliance on foreign electrical components, creating an "undue risk of catastrophic effects" on critical infrastructure, the administration said.
- The order prohibits companies from purchasing or installing foreign-produced parts that could contain digital "backdoors"—secret access points allowing hostile governments to remotely control or disable the bulk-power system.
- Federal officials are directed to identify potentially dangerous equipment and make recommendations, targeting transactions with countries under United States arms embargoes or those working against American interests.
- Washington has previously restricted Chinese telecom suppliers Huawei and ZTE from networks, while the European Commission banned Chinese-made inverters from publicly funded energy projects earlier this year.
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lim Eun-jin = U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning the influx of certain foreign-made power equipment to protect the national power grid...
Trump order could force US utilities to replace foreign power equipment
President Donald Trump’s new national emergency declaration could restrict U.S. purchases and imports of certain foreign-made power grid equipment and potentially force utilities and infrastructure operators to replace equipment already in service as the administration moves to address national security risks to the electric system. Under an executive order signed Wednesday, the Energy Department can prohibit the acquisition, importation, transf…
The U.S. government has established a ban on foreign equipment with risks to the power supply. The U.S. military wants to secure the grid through nuclear microreactors.
U.S. President Donald Trump declared Thursday the national emergency, by means of an executive order, which allows the prohibition of the acquisition or installation of electrical equipment manufactured abroad when they violate national security.
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