President Biden Signs “Made in America” Executive Order

During the campaign, Biden pledged to create a “buy American” plan that would require Federal dollars be spent on more American-made products. To that end, last week President Biden issued the Made in America Executive Order that works towards “Strengthening Buy American Provisions, Ensuring the Future of America is Made in America by All of America’s Workers.” The White House is touting this as part of the administration’s commitment to investing in American workers and companies.
 
The Order directs agencies to strengthen purchasing requirements so that American-made products and services are given preference. Altogether, federal agencies spend nearly $600 billion through these types of contracts each year, though it is unclear as to what percentage of that amount is currently being spent on American-made products.
 
The Executive Order accomplishes its goal by instructing agencies to implement policies that will make it more difficult to obtain waivers to purchase products from overseas. The Biden administration believes that in many cases, waivers are used to skirt current requirements, this Executive Order would close those loopholes. Moving forward, all agencies seeking waivers will have to post them on a public website so that U.S. companies can check for themselves whether they are able to fulfill the contract, before the waiver is granted.
 
The Order also establishes a new position within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee the new requirements. Additionally, a panel will convene to oversee the requirement changes, which are to be finalized within six months.
 
To view the full Executive Order, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/25/president-biden-to-sign-executive-order-strengthening-buy-american-provisions-ensuring-future-of-america-is-made-in-america-by-all-of-americas-workers/.