A proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) published on July 30, 2021 will “strengthen the impact of the Buy American Act” (“BAA”) over the next eight years, according to the Federal Register notice. Federal contractors and subcontractors were put on notice of coming proposed changes in January when President Biden issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14005 revoking or superseding multiple EOs issued by the Trump Administration. The Proposed Rule arising from Section 8 of EO 14005 would alter and build upon existing requirements of the BAA. The Proposed Rule includes immediately higher domestic content thresholds that will increase over time, price preference enhancements for “critical” items, and contractor reporting of domestic content within 15 days of an award to the newly created Made in America Office of the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”). The new proposed Buy American restrictions will not apply to acquisitions subject to various trade agreements under the Trade Agreements Act.
Tony Busch
Tony advises clients on export control matters pertaining to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Tony also provides the export control profile required for “critical technologies” analysis in Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) matters. Additionally, Tony counsels clients seeking to comply with Census Bureau Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) Anti-boycott Regulations, and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions.
DoD Requests Comments on Supply Chain Risks for Strategic and Critical Materials
The Department of Defense (“DoD”) requested industry comments by April 28, 2021 to assist with the DoD’s forthcoming report identifying risks and policy recommendations regarding the supply chain for strategic and critical materials. The Apr. 13, 2021 Federal Register notice notes “the need for resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains to ensure U.S. economic prosperity…