A new executive order signed by President Joe Biden will strengthen domestic procurement for federally funded projects under the Made in America program. The order is likely to help strengthen the aluminum and steelmaking industries in the US.
The strengthening of the Made in America regulation will ensure that when the federal government spends funds on infrastructure or other public projects, they do so on “American made goods made by American workers and with American-made component parts,” the executive order states.
The order signed by Biden on Monday directs government agencies to close current loopholes in how they measure domestic content and its requirements while buying material for taxpayer-funded projects. It has also created a new post in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to oversee the government’s policy approach to Made in America.
It also includes increasing oversight of potential waivers and connects new businesses to contracting opportunities for federally funded programs as well as cross-agency reviews of all domestic preferences.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) applauded the move, which, according to Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer, AISI, will ensure that public infrastructure projects buy American steel and “other made-in-America” products, which in turn, will create more jobs in the manufacturing sector.
Dempsey added that the order will foster the growth of domestic steel consumption by tightening the waivers for existing domestic preference requirements and “will also increase domestic content requirements for defining what constitutes a product” that is made in the US.