President Biden Signs “Buy American” Executive Order on Jan. 25
President Biden signed an executive order Monday (Jan. 25) imposing stricter rules on government procurement practices and increasing purchases of U.S.-made products, a step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to “buy American” and strengthen domestic manufacturing.
Biden’s new policy will include tightening government procurement rules to make it more difficult for federal agencies to purchase imported products, revising the definition of American-made products and increasing the content requirements for local products. The executive order also ensures that small and medium-sized businesses have better access to the information they need to bid on government contracts.
In a speech at the signing ceremony Monday, Biden pledged that the measures he took would have “clear directives” (clear directives) as well as a “coordinated effort” (coordinated effort).
Biden: no longer rely on foreign countries to provide key products
In his speech, Biden said, “This New Guinea virus outbreak shows that we can no longer rely on a foreign country with different interests than ours to protect our people in a national emergency.”
During the campaign, Biden proposed a “Buy American” plan that would increase the government’s total purchases of U.S.-made products and services by $400 billion over four years.
Speaking to reporters Monday before signing the executive order, Biden said, “I simply do not believe that the vitality of American manufacturing has passed. American manufacturing was the arsenal of democracy in World War II, and now it must be an integral part of the engine of American prosperity.”
The White House said Biden’s order will direct federal agencies to close loopholes in the definition of U.S. products to ensure they have sufficient components of Made in America to qualify as U.S.-made products.
Rainsy: U.S.-made ingredient rules have significant impact
William Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official and trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the executive order shows that Biden is now focused on restoring the domestic economy after being hit hard by the Epidemic. He said 97 percent of current government purchases are already made and assembled in the United States, and the current rule is that parts containing at least 50 percent U.S. production are considered U.S. products.
“We’ll see if there’s a big change next. Right now it’s basically a 50 percent rule as far as parts assemblies are concerned. If the Biden Administration adds just a little bit, it won’t make a difference. If it increases a lot, that will force a lot of companies to change their supply chains, and that could lead to a lot of unhappiness because it will be more expensive to produce and it will take a lot of Time.”
Biden’s “Buy American” initiative has similarities to former President Trump‘s “America First” policy, but Trump’s policy focuses on tariff wars with China and other trading partners. Biden’s “Buy American” policy is being closely watched by U.S. allies, including Canada and the European Union, who hope to build more friendly trade relations with the United States through the current administration. Biden has repeatedly said he will work more closely with allies and multilateral trade rules.
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