US Economy: Joe Biden Unveils New 'Buy American' Proposal
Speaking at a Mack Trucks plant in Lower Macungie Township, Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted an initiative to increase the share of U.S.-made parts of products to qualify as "Made in America."
Biden is seeking robust changes to the Buy American Act of 1933. The Buy American Act required the federal government to purchase goods determined to be 55% made in the United States. Biden seeks to immediately increase that threshold to 60%, then 65% by 2024, and eventually 75% by 2029.
"I can sum it up in two words: 'Buy American,'" Biden said while speaking at the operations facility. “If you give an American worker just a chance, there’s nothing they won’t do."
Biden said that the Buy American Act would ensure that when the government buys goods they are U.S.-made.
“Previous administrations didn’t take it so seriously, my administration is going to make ‘Buy American’ a reality,” Biden said.
Biden discussed his push to support American companies by creating more union jobs and strengthening manufacturing.
"Unions built the middle class," Biden said to applause. Biden also touted the America Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed in March.
“Leveraging that purchasing power to shape markets and accelerate innovation is a key part of Biden’s industrial strategy to grow the industries of the future to support U.S. workers, communities, and firms. As the pandemic has demonstrated, federal procurement can strengthen the resilience of domestic supply chains, and reduce the risks of Americans being adversely impacted by the actions of competitor nations during a time of crisis," the White House said in a statement.
Biden’s recent proposal also includes two other actions according to senior administration officials. The first would include a set of “enhanced price preferences for purposes of bid evaluation for products or components.” The second would strengthen rules governing transparency and accountability over the federal government’s purchases.
“New reporting requirements for critical products and components will improve data on the amount of domestic content in federal purchases,” one official said. “The will help bolster compliance with existing law, and provide policymakers with greater data, to allow future rulemaking to strengthen Buy’s America’s ability for workers and businesses and communities across America.”
Biden also noted that “we’ll keep trading with our allies” but a resilient supply chain of our own will be necessary so “we’re not at the mercy of another country” for critical goods we need.
Biden also said he was pleased that the Senate had reached an agreement on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill as part of his economic agenda.
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