Biden Administration will Force US Federal Agencies to Buy American Goods & Services

US President Joe Biden has planned to sign an executive order aiming of invigorating American manufacturing, as promised during his election campaign to boost the rules dictating that US federal agencies buy American goods and services. The new order will require federal agencies to strengthen their rules to oversee the purchasing of goods and services from American workers and businesses. The order will also create a position in the office of management and budget to enforce the rule by attempting to limit the number of waivers government contractors get from the “Buy America” regulations. ABC News reported that Biden called for a four-year increase in government purchases of US services and products totaling $400 billion, during the campaign. CNN also reported that former President Trump signed similar orders, but they had few changes effects.

A Biden administration official criticized the efforts of the Trump administration and said, “When you look at the outcome, there was no real material change in either the way in which domestic content was measured, the stringency of the domestic content requirements, or the utilization of waivers to the Buy America provisions. So, you know, in practice, nothing happened”. Point to be noted that President Biden will set a deadline of 180 days for federal agencies to deliver significant change in the process to achieve the goal. CNN reported that the official said, “He believes we can rebuild the vitality of American manufacturing and our industrial strength. A big piece of that is centered on the idea that when we use taxpayer money to rebuild America, we buy American and we support American jobs”.

It is noteworthy that the requirements on government purchases of American goods and services already exist, but it’s ruled by a patchwork of regulations with loopholes depending on the kind of purchase a government entity is about to make. Now, Biden’s order will change the definition of what constitutes American products and services, how they are measured, and raise the threshold for required purchases. The smaller US manufacturers were often ignored in this process. But, they will now have a chance to get a larger piece of the pie as the administration will create a public website. So, all waiver requests from the requirements will be published and agencies will be directed to actively connect with smaller US firms to boost American manufacturing and industry. The major objective is to make sure that companies can’t undermine or get around the purpose of the Made in America rules by importing largely foreign-made products.