The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council Aug. 30 issued a
final rule clarifying the Buy American provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). In general, Buy American requires iron, steel and manufactured goods used in the construction, alteration, maintenance or repair of public buildings or public works projects to be produced in the United States. In addition, this restriction on the origin of goods must be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.
The final rule, which goes in effect Oct.1, clarifies section 1605 of ARRA and states that iron and steel construction materials are only exempt from the Buy American restrictions when those materials do not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel. The final rule further clarifies that if the government buys a manufactured good directly and brings it to a construction site for a project, the item also must be Buy American-compliant even if it is not a construction material as defined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Contracting officers for stimulus projects will have to modify existing contracts for future work with ARRA funds. If a contractor refuses to accept such a modification, the contractor will become ineligible for ARRA-related work.
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report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in February 2010 cited Buy American as a key reason for the delay in implementing stimulus projects. Several federal agencies stated the restrictions had affected their ability to select and start ARRA projects.