§8302 — Title 41 Public Contracts | U.S. Code

Summary

Federal agencies must buy materials and supplies that are made or mined in the United States for public use. Manufactured items must be made almost entirely from U.S. materials. An agency head can allow foreign-made items only if buying U.S. goods would be against the public interest, would cost too much, or U.S. supplies of that kind are not available in enough amount or quality. The rule does not apply to items used outside the United States, to purchases under certain defense or trade agreements, or to manufactured items bought under contracts at or below the micro-purchase threshold in section 1902. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with the GSA Administrator, must report to two congressional committees within 180 days after the fiscal year when the Build America, Buy America Act is enacted, and then yearly for four years, showing how much was bought from producers outside the U.S. Intelligence community buys are excluded. For iron and steel, every step of making the product, from the first melting through coating, must happen in the United States for it to count as U.S.-made, and that rule applies to all iron and steel items.

Title 41, §8302

Public Contracts — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Only unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies that have been mined or produced in the United States, and only manufactured articles, materials, and supplies that have been manufactured in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States, shall be acquired for public use unless the head of the Federal agency concerned determines their acquisition to be inconsistent with the public interest, their cost to be unreasonable, or that the articles, materials, or supplies of the class or kind to be used, or the articles, materials, or supplies from which they are manufactured, are not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.

(2)This section does not apply—

(A)to articles, materials, or supplies for use outside the United States;

(B)to any articles, materials, or supplies procured pursuant to a reciprocal defense procurement memorandum of understanding (as described in section 8304 of this title), or a trade agreement or least developed country designation described in subpart 25.400 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation; and

(C)to manufactured articles, materials, or supplies procured under any contract with an award value that is not more than the micro-purchase threshold under section 1902 of this title.

(b)(1)Not later than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year during which the Build America, Buy America Act is enacted, and annually thereafter for 4 years, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report on the total amount of acquisitions made by Federal agencies in the relevant fiscal year of articles, materials, or supplies acquired from entities that mine, produce, or manufacture the articles, materials, or supplies outside the United States.

(2)This subsection does not apply to acquisitions made by an agency, or component of an agency, that is an element of the intelligence community as specified in, or designated under, section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003).

(c)The following rules apply in carrying out the provisions of subsection (a):

(1)For purposes of this section, manufactured articles, materials, and supplies of iron and steel are deemed manufactured in the United States only if all manufacturing processes involved in the production of such iron and steel, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurs in the United States.

(2)Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, including section 1907 of this title and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the requirements of this section apply to all iron and steel articles, materials, and supplies.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 830241:10a.Mar. 3, 1933, ch. 212, title III, § 2, 47 Stat. 1520; Pub. L. 100–418, title VII, § 7005(b), Aug. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 1553; Pub. L. 103–355, title IV, § 4301(b), Oct. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 3347; Pub. L. 110–28 title VIII, § 8306, May 25, 2007, 121 Stat. 211. In subsection (a), the words “Notwithstanding any other provision of law” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (b)(1), reference to fiscal years 2007 and 2008 is omitted as obsolete.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Build America, Buy America Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), is Pub. L. 117–58, div. G. title IX, subtitle A, Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1294, which is set out in a note under section 8301 of this title. The Act was enacted in fiscal year 2022.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 117–58, § 70922(e)(1)(A), substituted “Federal agency” for “department or independent establishment” and “their acquisition to be inconsistent with the public interest, their cost to be unreasonable, or that the articles, materials, or supplies of the class or kind to be used, or the articles, materials, or supplies from which they are manufactured, are not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality” for “their acquisition to be inconsistent with the public interest or their cost to be unreasonable”. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 117–58, § 70922(e)(1)(B), amended subpar. (B) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (B) read as follows: “if articles, materials, or supplies of the class or kind to be used, or the articles, materials, or supplies from which they are manufactured, are not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and are not of a satisfactory quality; and”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 117–58, § 70922(c), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) related to submission of reports no later than 180 days after the end of each of fiscal years 2009 through 2011. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–58, § 70922(a), added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023.

§8302 American Materials Required for Public Use