by Marcia G. Madsen and Cameron R. Edlefsen
On September 30, 2022, the US Department of Defense's ("DoD") two-year waiver expired with respect to contracting prohibitions set forth in Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
Since FY 2019, agencies have been precluded by statute from contracting with companies that use certain telecommunications equipment or services from companies—Huawei Technologies being the most frequently discussed example1—that Congress determined presented substantial security risks to the United States and its manufacturing base. Government agencies were allowed to grant waivers from these restrictions for two years, but that potential grace period has ended. On the other hand, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has waiver authority that is not tied to an expiration period. All contractors doing business with the government must be in compliance with these substantial restrictions.