Following recent efforts by Democrats to push for “Buy American” action, on January 9, 2018, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) proudly announced via Twitter that there now is “bipartisan support for strengthening our Buy American laws” and that he is “excited to have the Trump admin[istration] and partners like [Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH)] working together to get this done.” That same day, these senators reached across the aisle to sponsor the BuyAmerican.gov Act of 2018 (S.2284) to “strengthen Buy American requirements.”
This proposed legislation may be the most significant “Buy American” development since President Donald J. Trump issued his “Buy American” Executive Order (E.O. 13788, April 2017), which set forth a policy and action plan to “maximize . . . the use of goods, products and materials produced in the United States” through federal procurements and federal financial assistance awards to “support the American manufacturing and defense industrial bases” (and which we analyzed in a prior blog post).Continue Reading Key Takeaways from Bipartisan Bill to “Strengthen Buy American Requirements”