Search results for: Buy American

On October 17, 2025, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced that it plans to issue a Mass Modification to GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (“MAS” or “Schedule”) Solicitation[1] and Schedule contracts in November 2025 (“Refresh”).  Periodically, GSA may issue a Mass Modification to Schedule contracts to uniformly impose changes to the contract terms applicable to all Schedule contract holders, often as a result of changes in applicable law, regulation, or policy.  This approach also ensures that existing Schedule contracts have consistent terms, even though with the evergreen nature of the Solicitation those contracts have been entered into at different times and are at different stages of performance.

This Refresh (i.e., Refresh #30) will implement several significant changes with the goal to align the GSA Schedule with recent developments in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (“RFO”).[2]  Although the full text of the Refresh is not yet available, GSA’s Refresh outline provides insight into the changes that are to come as GSA seeks to gain implementation experience with the RFO clauses, provisions, and ordering procedures through its Schedule contracts.  Given GSA’s leadership of the RFO process, and this year’s Executive Order to consolidate domestic procurement of common goods and services in GSA to the extent permitted by law,[3] it is no surprise that it has acted quickly to revise its long-term government-wide contracting vehicle according to these recent developments. 

Along with the Refresh announcement, GSA opened a 10 business day comment window on buy.gsa.gov, which we expect will close on October 31, 2025.  Schedules contractors will be expected to accept the Refresh no later than 90 days from its release which is expected sometime in November.  Below we discuss relevant background on the RFO process as it relates to the Schedule and anticipated changes to provisions and clauses in the Refresh.  We will continue to watch for updates as GSA’s implementation of the RFO unfolds.    Continue Reading Overhauling the GSA Schedule

On April 3, the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) released two memoranda with AI guidance and requirements for federal agencies, Memorandum M-25-21 on Accelerating Federal Use of AI through Innovation, Governance, and Public Trust (“OMB AI Use Memo“) and Memorandum M-25-22 on Driving Efficient Acquisition of Artificial…

Continue Reading OMB Issues First Trump 2.0-Era Requirements for AI Use and Procurement by Federal Agencies

During his first two months in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of April 2, 2025

During his first two months in office, President Trump has taken numerous executive actions likely to impact federal government contractors and grant recipients.  This timeline highlights key developments pertaining to recent executive orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions issued by the second Trump administration.  It focuses on issues most relevant to federal contractors and grant recipients, and is divided into five topics: (1) Federal Funding; (2) DEI and Gender; (3) Energy and Environment; (4) Trade and Foreign Aid; and (5) DOGE and Federal Workforce.  Covington’s Government Contracts Practice is continuing to track these and other developments and will plan to periodically update this timeline.

This timeline provides a high-level summary of recent events and is not exhaustive. In addition, this timeline was last updated on the date provided above.  To the extent you may have questions regarding any of the developments discussed below — or other matters — please reach out to a member of Covington’s Government Contracts Practice.Continue Reading Timeline of Key Developments Related to Recent Executive Actions as of March 26, 2025

In his first few days in office, President Trump issued several executive orders (“EOs”) and memoranda, many of which may have implications for federal contractors and grant recipients, including the following:Continue Reading President Trump Issues Numerous Executive Orders with Potential Impacts on Federal Contractors and Grant Recipients

Domestic sourcing requirements are not new, but the Government is always developing new tools for increasing the sourcing of goods from the U.S. and allied countries.  Both sides of the political aisle have marched to a drumbeat of increased domestic sourcing for the past several years.  Most recently, the Biden Administration implemented Executive Order 14005 to “maximize” the U.S. Government’s purchase of goods and services produced in the United States and Executive Order 14104 to increase domestic manufacturing and commercialization in certain research and development supported by federal funding.  The ongoing bi-partisan support for bolstering domestic sourcing is illustrated no better than through this year’s NDAA, which focuses on expanding the domestic supply chain for materials and supplies critical to the U.S. military, encouraging the purchase of domestic end items, and providing more opportunities for the Department of Defense (“DoD”) to engage with and purchase from domestic businesses.Continue Reading Key Domestic Sourcing Provisions of the House and Senate Versions of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Last December, President Biden issued Executive Order 14057, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability,” which directed the government to adopt cleaner and more sustainable procurement practices, with the ultimate objective of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Pursuant to that directive, GSA has issued a new RFI seeking information regarding domestically manufactured solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and systems, as well as PV system installation.  GSA intends to use the information to develop a solar PV procurement strategy and a procurement standard for use in future solicitations — including solicitations for Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs), Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESCs), and other vehicles. 

Given the RFI’s emphasis on sourcing and country of origin, it is possible that any new procurement standards for civilian contracting would parallel existing regulations at DFARS 252.225-7017, which generally require DoD contractors to make use of PV devices originating from the United States or certain designated or qualifying countries.  Of course, the ultimate impact of the RFI on future procurement strategy remains to be seen.  What is certain, however, is that the Administration is committed to clean technology procurements and that domestic preferences remain an overriding and central concern. 

Comments in response to the RFI are due by November 18, 2022.  More detail about specific topics covered in the RFI is below.Continue Reading GSA Issues Request for Information on Photovoltaic Systems

On December 30, 2021, the FAR Council issued a final rule to update the trade agreements thresholds implemented under the Trade Agreements Act (“TAA”).  The new thresholds take effect January 1, 2022.

The TAA thresholds are adjusted every two years and set the value a contract must meet or exceed in order for the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (“WTO GPA”) and free trade agreements (“FTAs”) to apply.  For supply, service, and construction contracts that meet or exceed the stated thresholds, Buy American Act (“BAA”) requirements are waived in accordance with the TAA, and the Government is required to treat eligible products and services from designated countries on an equal basis as domestic products and services.

The updated thresholds, to be listed in FAR 25.402(b), are provided below.Continue Reading New Trade Agreements Act Thresholds Take Effect January 1, 2022

Under the January 2021 “Made in America” Executive Order 14005, President Biden established a new Made in America Office to oversee and administer domestic preference requirements in federal procurements.  Housed within the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), the Made in America Office was tasked with, among other things, reviewing and approving agency waivers of any Made in America Laws—including, for example, waivers of the Buy American Act (“BAA”) and Trade Agreements Act (“TAA”), as well as developing a publicly available website to post the descriptions of the proposed waivers and justifications for each.  Last week, the Made in America Office launched its new website, establishing for the first time a centralized, government-wide database of all proposed waivers of Made in America Laws.
Continue Reading The Made in America Office Website Is Live

On June 11, 2021, the White House released new guidance on its plans to limit waivers of domestic sourcing laws, bolstering its January 2021 Executive Order on “Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers.”  The guidance, entitled “Increasing Opportunities for Domestic Sourcing and Reducing the Need for Waivers from Made in America Laws,” provides insight on how the Biden Administration intends to enforce domestic sourcing laws such as the Buy American Act (“BAA”) over the coming years.

We have previously written about the January 2021 Executive Order here.  Among other things the Executive Order established a federal Made in America Office (“MIAO”) to review agency decisions to waive laws such as the BAA from procurements, grants, and other government contracting activities.  It also directed the Office of Management and Budget to establish reporting and oversight procedures to promote enforcement of the Made in America Laws.  The guidance fulfills that requirement.

Among other things, the guidance:

  • Requires each agency to designate a Senior Accountable Official, an official responsible for coordinating with the Made in America Director to implement the waiver review process,
  • Establishes the procedures for review of waiver requests by the Made in America Office (“MIAO”),
  • Implements the Executive Order’s requirement that acquiring activities prepare agency reports on compliance with Made in America Laws, and
  • Explains the process to develop the public database of all proposed waivers by early fiscal year 2022.

Importantly, the guidance creates an “initial phase” of implementation for the Executive Order, indicating that future phases will follow.  In this “initial phase,” the Biden Administration will focus on (1) Jones Act waivers and (2) non-availability procurement waivers pursuant to the BAA proposed by the 24 agencies subject to the Chief Financial Officers (“CFO”) Act.  During the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, the MIAO will phase in reviews of waivers proposed by non-CFO Act agencies and other types of waiver requests.

In a blog post announcing the guidance, the new Director of the Made in America Office, Celeste Drake, stated that the guidance is intended “to improve practices and processes to ensure that Made in America laws are not a mere compliance exercise,” as well as “reinforc[e] the actions announced in the 100-Day Supply Chain Review.”Continue Reading White House Issues Guidance on Limiting Waivers of Domestic Sourcing Laws – What Contractors Need to Know