Buy American Act-U.S. Government Purchasing
(Requiring Government Procurements To Come From U.S. Domestic Sources)
NO. 091208-CAL-01
In late 2007, Calibre Door Closers, Inc. began surveying sales potential for selling product directly to U.S. Government procurement agencies, including, but not limited to the DoD, AAFES, and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Through 2008 our direct government sales have grown accordingly. This process involves registration and strict adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and to the DoD FAR Supplement (DFARS). Within this process, often coming into specifications, is the Buy American Act, herein briefly outlined for your reference.
Scope in General
The Buy American Act was enacted by the U.S. Congress requiring United States government agencies to prefer U.S.-made products in its purchases. These agencies include, but are not limited to, Federal buildings and facilities, U.S. military bases
and facilities, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, and building/facilities managed and controlled by a U.S. Agency. The
Buy American Act is part of the Federal Acquisition Regulations System (FAR), Subpart 2, Section 25, further identified as
FAR 52.225.
- The Buy American Improvement Act of 2007 further stipulated the definition of "American Made" as product with a domestic content requirement of at least 75%.
General Exemptions
In U.S. government procurements, the purchase requirement may be waived if purchasing the domestically made material
or product would burden the government with an unreasonable cost, if the product is not available domestically in sufficient
quantity or quality, or if doing so is in the public interest.
The President also has the authority to waive the Buy American Act within the terms of a reciprocal agreement or otherwise in response to the provision of reciprocal treatment to U.S. producers in kind.
- Section 2A of subsequent Executive Order 11051 defined unreasonable costs of an American product as when the American product costs more than 6% over the foreign product. A foreign product rendering at least a 6% cost savings is generally exempt from the Buy American Act.
- Exemption by reason of sufficient quantity can be construed to mean sufficient quantity available in a timely manner in order to complete a project deadline. Quality requirements are often tied to performance standards, which in many instances are referenced in ANSI/BHMA quality and/or performance test standards.
Conclusion
It is our understanding, based on information currently available, that if a foreign produced product represents at least a 6% cost savings, and meets specified quality standards, and is readily available, then the use of this product in lieu of a comparable domestically produced equivalent is deemed acceptable for use by the U.S. government and the Buy American requirement is therein waived.