Biden Signs ‘Buy American’ Order for Government Purchases

This week, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to boost “Buy American” provisions that the White House says will encourage the federal government to purchase more goods and services from U.S. companies. Here are the president’s remarks.

According to reports, the new order will make it harder for federal agencies to purchase imported products by revising the definition of American-made products and raising local-content requirements, while ensuring that small and mid-size businesses have better information to bid on government contracts. Federal agencies are encouraged to partner with Manufacturing Extension Partnerships (MEPs) “to conduct supplier scouting in order to identify American companies … that are able to produce goods, products, and materials in the U.S. that meet federal procurement needs.”

Meanwhile, IndustryWeek has published this summary of five of President Biden’s early orders that have implications for U.S. manufacturers. 1/26/2021