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1 1 (September 22, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveenz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional * Research Service Informing the Iegist tive debate since 1914 The Buy American Act: Proposed Rules September 22, 2021 On July 30, 2021, the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration-which, along with the Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, make up the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council)-published several proposed rules regarding the Buy American Act (BAA). The proposed rules, which are contained within one rulemaking notice, address Section 8 of Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers. This Insight provides an overview of the four proposed rules, including one not mentioned specifically in the executive order, and briefly mentions the FAR Council's guidance regarding feedback on the proposed rules. Increase the Domestic Content Threshold The BAA provides a means for determining whether supplies and construction materials qualify as domestic end products. This determination relies partly on whether the end product meets the appropriate, current domestic content threshold: The cost of [a domestic end product's] components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States [must] exceed[] 55 percent of the cost of all its components. This is known as the component test. End products consisting wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both are treated differently from other manufactured products in government purchases. They are considered domestic products only if the cost of foreign iron and steel constitutes less than 5 percent of the cost of all of the components used in the end product. The proposed rule would not change the threshold for iron and steel products. The proposed rule would initially increase the domestic content threshold from 55% to 60%. The second increase, to 65%, would apply to items delivered in years 2024-2028, and the final increase, to 75%, would apply to items delivered beginning in 2029. If a threshold increase occurs during the performance period of a contract, the contractor would be required to comply with each increased threshold for the items in the year of delivery. The proposed rule provides a fallback threshold. If implemented as drafted, the rule would allow, until one year after the increase of the domestic content threshold to 75 percent, for the acceptance of the former domestic content threshold in instances where end products or construction materials that meet the new domestic content threshold are not available or are of unacceptable cost. The fallback threshold would not apply to products or construction materials that consist predominantly or wholly of iron or steel or both metals. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11756 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress