Buy America Rollout Causes Confusion and Delays

A coalition of building trade groups petitioned the White House Office of Management and Budget last week to clarify and adjust its implementation of Build America, Buy America requirements for construction materials, saying that they risk delaying and inflating the cost of infrastructure work as-is.

BABA expands existing domestic preference requirements for construction projects that use federal dollars, with the goal of funneling taxpayer money into American-made products. It was enacted as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act but applies to all federally funded building projects.

In a Feb. 15 petition, the Associated General Contractors of America, American Road & Transportation Builders Association, American Public Transportation Association and National Association of Home Builders said they support BABA’s aims, but their members “have encountered significant difficulty in navigating an opaque and unbalanced implementation of BABA” by the agency and its Made in America Office.

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