Made in America Executive Order

The Made in America Executive Order is a 2021 executive order that significantly tightened domestic content requirements for federal purchases, established a centralized waiver review process, and directed agencies to maximize the use of domestically produced goods and services in federal contracting.

What is the Made in America Executive Order?

Executive Order 14005 (Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers), signed January 25, 2021, built on and substantially strengthened the long-standing Buy American Act framework. Key provisions include:

Increased domestic content thresholds: The Buy American Act previously required that a product consist of at least 50 percent domestic components (by cost) to qualify as a domestic product. E.O. 14005 directed OMB to increase that threshold, which was subsequently raised through FAR rulemaking to 60 percent in 2022 and is scheduled to increase to 65 percent in 2024 and 75 percent by 2029. This phased increase requires federal suppliers to progressively increase domestic content in their supply chains.

Made in America Office (MIAO): The order established a Made in America Office within OMB to review and approve all waivers of Buy American Act requirements. Previously, agencies could approve their own waivers. Now, waivers above a de minimis threshold require MIAO review, bringing greater scrutiny and public transparency to domestic preference exceptions.

Public waiver transparency: MIAO publishes waiver requests and decisions on a public website, allowing industry and the public to monitor when and why the government is buying foreign-sourced goods.

Federal acquisition planning: Agencies must maximize opportunities for domestic suppliers in acquisition planning and market research, moving beyond minimum compliance to affirmative advocacy for domestic sources.

The order interacts with trade agreement obligations under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and bilateral free trade agreements, which require the U.S. to extend non-discriminatory treatment to suppliers from qualifying countries above specified thresholds.

Why the Made in America Executive Order matters for government contractors

Suppliers who source components internationally must track the phased domestic content threshold increases to ensure their products continue to qualify as domestic under the Buy American Act. Companies with supply chains dependent on foreign components face a strategic choice: restructure supply chains to meet rising domestic content requirements, or seek waivers - which are now publicly visible and harder to obtain.

Example

An industrial equipment manufacturer supplies the Department of Energy with specialized pumping systems. Under the prior 50 percent threshold, the manufacturer qualified as domestic even though 48 percent of component costs were foreign-sourced. The rise to 60 percent under E.O. 14005 rulemaking means the same product now fails the domestic content test. The manufacturer submits a Buy American waiver request through the agency, which is reviewed by MIAO. MIAO posts the waiver request publicly and requires the manufacturer to demonstrate that no domestic source for the foreign components exists at reasonable cost before approving the waiver.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the Made in America Order interact with the Buy American Act?

The Made in America Order operates within the Buy American Act framework - it does not replace the statute but directs regulatory changes (higher thresholds, stricter waiver review) that make the existing statute more demanding. The BAA and its FAR implementation remain the controlling legal authority; the E.O. and subsequent FAR rules are the mechanism for tightening that authority.

Does the order apply to services contracts?

The Buy American Act and E.O. 14005 primarily apply to purchases of goods (end products and construction materials). Services contracts are generally not subject to Buy American Act domestic content requirements, though other domestic preference policies (such as domestic employee location preferences in some security-cleared contracts) may apply.

What qualifies as a "domestic" product under the current rules?

A domestic end product is one that is manufactured in the United States and for which at least the applicable percentage (60 percent in 2022 rulemaking, rising to 75 percent by 2029) of the cost of all components is U.S. manufactured. Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) items meeting the manufacture-in-the-U.S. test are treated as domestic regardless of component origin.

How do trade agreements affect Made in America requirements?

The U.S. has trade agreement commitments (under the WTO GPA and bilateral FTAs) that require it to apply non-discriminatory treatment to suppliers from covered countries above specified dollar thresholds. Above those thresholds, the Buy American Act restrictions are waived for covered-country suppliers. Below the trade agreement thresholds, the domestic preference applies regardless of the supplier's country of origin.