Tag: Buy America

Biden Administration Proposes End to Highway Waiver

The Biden administration wants to eliminate a Buy America waiver that has allowed the purchase of foreign manufactured goods for use in highway projects since the 1980s. In his State-of-the-Union address on March 7, 2024, President Biden declared “’Buy

Buy American Waiver Website Criticized

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found deficiencies in the administration’s website that provides information on waivers of Buy American laws in a December 2023 report. In Opportunities Exist to Improve the Reporting of Waivers to

GPA Parties Criticize OMB Infrastructure Guidance

Parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), led by the European Union  and echoed by Australia, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, criticized US  implementation of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) at a

Trade Agreements Ignored in New ‘Buy America’ Rules

The Biden administration is intent on closing what it regards as a “giant loophole” that has allowed infrastructure projects to be built with products (other than iron and steel) “sourced from anywhere in the world.” To that end, it has proposed

Challenges in Implementing Domestic Preferences

This post explores the challenges in implementing the broad domestic preference mandate in the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act. This mandate has created challenges for entities undertaking infrastructure projects with federal funds, notably the

GWU Webinar on Protectionism in International Procurement

The George Washington University presented a webinar on September 7 on “New Protectionism in International Public Procurement.” The discussion included unilateral procurement actions by the United States and the European Union (EU). For the US, the

Canada Considers Procurement Restrictions

Canada is exploring options for responding to the expansion of “Buy America” policies in the United States. It is considering measures that would allow it to restrict access to its federal procurement and federally funded infrastructure projects when the

“Buy America” in Infrastructure Act: Trade Agreements

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which became law on November 15, 2021, imposes a new domestic preference on infrastructure projects undertaken by non-federal entities with federal financial assistance (grants). This post focuses on

2021 International Procurement Review

This post surveys major actions in 2021 in the international procurement arena. It begins with agreements that are aimed at liberalizing procurement markets. It then looks at measures that are focused on protecting domestic procurement markets or restricting

Canada Seeks “Buy America” Exemptions

Canada has launched a multi-front approach to “Buy America” policies that includes seeking exemptions from both current and future policies. A special committee of the Canadian Parliament has called on the Canadian government to seek “a full