The National Production Authority (NPA) was an agency of the United States government which developed and promoted the production and supply of materials and facilities necessary for defense mobilization. It was part of the Department of Commerce.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
Mobilization, in military terminology, is the act of assembling and readying troops and supplies for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, to describe the preparation of the Imperial Russian Army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and tactics have continuously changed since then. The opposite of mobilization is demobilization.
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision-making, and helping to set industrial standards. This organization's main purpose is to create jobs, promote economic growth, encourage sustainable development and improve standards of living for all Americans. The Department of Commerce headquarters is the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, D.C.
The agency was created by Department Order 123, issued September 11, 1950, under authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950 and Executive Order 10161 (issued September 9, 1950). The organization's function was to ensure the needs of the civilian economy were adequately represented in defense mobilization efforts, and that small businesses were participating in defense contracts.
The Defense Production Act is a United States federal law enacted on September 8, 1950, in response to the start of the Korean War. It was part of a broad civil defense and war mobilization effort in the context of the Cold War. Its implementing regulations, the Defense Priorities and Allocation System (DPAS), are located at 15 CFR §§700 to 700.93. Since 1950, the Act has been reauthorized over 50 times. It has been periodically amended, and remains in force as of 2019.
In 1951, after the escalation of the Korean War, the NPA was placed under the control of the Defense Production Administration in the Office of Defense Mobilization.
The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.
The Defense Production Administration (DPA) was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to oversee and control defense production programs of the United States during wartime mobilization. The Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM) had been established by Executive Order 10193 under the authority of the Defense Production Act of 1950. ODM's charge was to regulate the economy so that defense production needs could be met, even if this meant restricting the flow of goods and services to the civilian sector of the economy.
The Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM) was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to plan, coordinate, direct and control all wartime mobilization activities of the federal government, including manpower, economic stabilization, and transport operations. It was established in 1950, and for three years was one of the most powerful agencies in the federal government. It merged with other agencies in 1958 to become the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization (1958–1961).
The NPA was abolished by Department Order 152, issued October 1, 1953. Its functions were dispersed among a number of successor agencies, including the Business and Defense Services Administration (1953–1970); the Bureau of Domestic Commerce (1970–1972); the Domestic and International Business Administration (1972–1977); the Industry and Trade Administration (1977–1980); and the International Trade Administration (1980–present).
The International Trade Administration (ITA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that promotes United States exports of nonagricultural U.S. services and goods.
