Free Essay

Buy American Requirements

In:

Submitted By bknot1
Words 712
Pages 3
The Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d) was enacted in 1933 to encourage the federal government to buy from American companies it does not apply to professional or personal services. There are some requirements that listed under the Buy American Act (BAA) that companies need to pay attention to. The Act requires all iron, steel, and manufactured goods that are incorporated into a public building or public work be produced in the United States (U.S.). This does not require individual components and raw materials that comprise a manufactured good originate in the U.S. Only the final manufactured product, must be assembled or manufactured into it final form in the United States, that will be incorporated into the public building or public work. It also does not require machinery and tools used by project laborers be produced in the U.S. It does require you to maintain adequate records documenting all procurement in their compliance with the Buy American Act. The restrictions are not applicable in acquisition subject to certain trade agreement. Under “Foreign Acquisitions” in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 25 where most of the rules are located, it list some exceptions that Congress over the years have modified the law to justify buying foreign product when need be. Some exceptions are: if the products acquired are for use outside the U.S., if the product is not reasonable available in sufficient commercial quantities in the domestic market, the cost of the domestic product is unreasonable, and if the products are commercial information technology items. The Buy American Act does not apply to procurements under the micro purchase threshold according to the Federal Acquisitions Act of 1994. The Trade Agreement Act (FAR 52.225-12) waives the “Buy American Act” for eligible products purchased form countries that have signed an international trade agreement with the U.S. (ACE Inc.,). I don’t think I really agree with this Act and I might be a little basis since I’m out of country (Egypt). I do think the act was made for the great depression to try and get the economy back running smoothly and get the Country back on their feet. If a contractor violates this Act it can be debarred form bidding on government contracts. In these times, I think it is very hard to ensure companies are still using the Act properly. When you have countries producing material at a cheaper cost than what it cost in the U.S., most companies will tend to lean to the lower cost for more profits. I do not feel that these requirements are contradictory to the claims that we consider ourselves a “free market” in which our government promotes competition. When these requirements were considered it was a bad time for the economy, so the government was trying anyway possible to figure out a way to bring money back into the country. Creating requirements for agencies within the government to buy American products was a good way to put money back into the slumping economy. The exceptions to the Buy American Requirement set by the government is really a needed break to be able to justify what the actually cost and material will be to from procuring for an outside cheaper choice. At the time it was fair and advantageous for our economy because it was working great. Over the years we are finding higher cost of American material vise foreign material that is in accordance with the requirements that are need to complete the projects. So the exceptions are fair depending on what country you are in and the requirements for the job. Overall I think the Buy American Act was set for a good cause, but now it appears that the rest of the world reduce labor cost to get more business

References

1. 41 U.S.C. 10a through 10d. Buy American Act of 1933, U.S. Code Section 10A – 10D, retrieved from http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/41/1 2. Buy American Act presentation. ACE, Inc., retrieved from http://www.acessinc.com/documents/BuyAmericanAct-.pdf , Unknown 3. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 25 “Foreign Acquisitions”, retrieved from https://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/pdf/FAR.pdf , May 10, 2012

-----------------------
BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS

1

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Buy American Requirement

...Assignment 3: Buy American Requirements Vicki Gaston BUS315: Cost and Price Analysis Professor Larry Murphy May 15, 2016 The Buy American Act was established in 1933 by the federal government. According to the website, USLegal, the definition of The Buy American Act is a “federal legislation that requires the United States government to prefer U.S. made domestic products over foreign goods. However, in certain government procurements, the reliance of domestic products may be waived if the domestic product is more expensive than an identical foreign product.” In other word, all federal construction contracts are to be made with U.S. construction material. The purpose of the Buy American Act is to create and protect American made jobs, to increase the purchase of American made products, to protect American manufacturing industries, and American investments. The Subpart 25.2-Buy American-Construction Material website mentions four exceptions to the Buy American requirements that permit foreign material to be used are: If “(1) the material is impractical or inconsistent with the public interest; (2) the material is not available. The head of the contracting activity may determine that a particular construction material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality; (3) unreasonable cost. The contracting officer concludes that the cost of domestic...

Words: 285 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Buy American Requirements Would Benefit Both Vectorcal and Your New Company

...how to grade is within the Instructor Center. Assignment 3: Buy American Requirements Due Week 6 and worth 240 points In order to complete this assignment, refer to the scenario from Assignment 1, as well as to the scenarios and readings from previous weeks. Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you: Specify the main points of the Buy American Requirements in one page or less. Determine the substantive means by which the Buy American Requirements would benefit both VectorCal and your new company. Provide a rationale for your response. Analyze the fundamental ways in which the Buy American Requirements are contradictory to a capitalistic ethos, given that the U.S. government claims to promote competition and the U.S. espouses a free market ideology (i.e., capitalism). Support your answer with two examples of such a contradiction. Debate whether or not you believe that the exceptions to the Buy American Requirements set forth by the government are fair and advantageous to the US economy. Provide a rationale for your response. Determine the key advantages and disadvantages of using the Buy American Requirements with the navigation system that both VectorCal and your company produce. Justify your response. Use at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as quality resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size...

Words: 393 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Cost and Analysis

...Buy American Requirements David Moore Strayer University Cost and Analysis BUS 315 Michael Raponi February 17, 2016 Buy American Requirements Buy American is a section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that substantially increases funds distributed by the federal government to the local, and state governments over a period of years illustrates that the increased funding of the federal, state and local projects imposes additional requirements on the contractors and their suppliers to ensure that the products or material composition that they utilize during the construction and completion of those projects must contain a certain percentage of USA made goods and components. Under the Buy American Act and the Buy America, products that do not meet the domestic requirements are permitted to include a ‘cost premium’ to the price that is offered to the purchaser or contractor of an item used in completing a project. Johnson suggests that the Buy American Act applies in cases where the federal government directly purchases materials or products or a federal facility or building. It requires that the final product must contain 51 percent of components made in the US. A cost waiver happens when the domestic materials are 6 percent higher than the foreign materials. The act also allows a price premium of 6 percent to be charged if the local requirements are not met. The Buy America applies to the projects undertaken by the state and local governments and...

Words: 2064 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Federal Contracting

...RUNNING HEADER: BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS 1 Buy American Requirements Strayer University Vicki Raper Professor: Larry Murphy Business 315 Cost and Price Analysis 2/08/2015 RUNNING HEADER: BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENTS 2 Abstract In this paper let’s specify the main points of the Buy American Requirements. Next, let’s determine the substantive means by which the Buy American Requirements would benefit both VectorCal and Boeing Navigation System, Inc. Then, let’s analyze the fundamental ways in which the Buy American Requirements are contradictory to a capitalistic ethos, given that the U.S. government claims to promote competition and the U.S. espouses a free market ideology (i.e. capitalism). Support your answer with two examples of such a contradiction. Now, let’s debate whether or not you believe that the exceptions to the Buy American Requirements set forth by the government are fair and advantageous to the US economy. Finally, determine the key advantages and disadvantages of using the Buy American Requirements with the navigation system that VectorCal and Boeing Navigation Systems, Inc. Conclusion, I believe our government implemented the Buy American Requirement for a reason that being said. I believe that the Buy American Requirements is for keeping American people working and our economy a whole growing my investing in our future. Boeing Navigation Systems, Inc. and Vector will be ensured participation in these contracts, as well as future...

Words: 3058 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

Federal Reserve

...The “Buy American” Requirements act required that the government of the United States of American should choose only the products of the United States for making their purchases. It prohibits use of recovery of funds for a project for the construction alteration, maintenance, or repairs of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United states. There are certain situations in which the government of using the United States products could be waived. The situations in which the requirements named above can be waived include the cases in which the locally produced product is higher in cost in comparison to the product which is available in the international bank. In summarizing, the restrictions can be waived if a waiver would be in the public interest; the products are not available from domestic sources in sufficient quantity or of satisfactory quality and that the cost of using products that are made by U.S. is reasonable. The Federal Acquisition Regulations defines “unreasonable cost” as a situation where foreign supplies and materials are offered at a price that is six percent or more below the price of domestic supplies and materials. There are two sets of ARRA Buy American regulations which is regulations at FAR Subpart 25.6, relating to contracts directly with the U.S. Government and its agencies and regulations that are issued by the Office of Management and Budget at 2 C.F.R. Part...

Words: 879 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Buy America

...Running Head: Assignment 3 Buy America Requirements William Henderson BUS315-Cost and Price Analysis Professor Joseph Arbeiter August 10, 2013 The Buy America Act was introduced as a response to the recession of late 2000s. It was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and was intended to boost the US economy by encouraging the purchase of American products. The Act imposed regulation and general requirements on iron, steel and other material used to build public facilities and public work projects. The buy America Act went into effect on March 31st 2009. It states that all steel purchase to construct public building must be processed in the United States. This means that smelting and any required process needed to confirm the steel materials to physical shape or specification such as rolling, extruding, grinding, drilling, machining etc. must be completed in America for the product to be considered domestic. All agencies are required to provide adequate oversight to guaranty that their materials comply with the Buy America specification. Agencies must understand the following: 1. Who needs to comply with the Act; all parties (including local government) involved with public works and public buildings. 2. The components of the regulation: it regulates Iron, steel and manufactured products used in public construction projects, modification, and repairs 3. Items not regulated are raw materials other than steel or iron. Non-manufactured goods that is not steel...

Words: 921 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Buy American

...“Buy American” Requirements On March 31, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council issued an interim rule implementing the Buy American provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, also known as the Stimulus Package. The Buy American provision of the Stimulus Package requires, with certain exceptions, that regardless of size or duration, none of the funds made available under the Act be used on projects for a “public building or public work” unless all of the iron, steel, and “manufactured goods” used in the project were “produced” in the United States. “The interim rule implements three exceptions to the Buy American requirement that permit foreign material to be used: If (1) a particular construction material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States “in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality,” (2) the cost of domestic construction material is unreasonable, or (3) applying the Buy American restriction to a particular construction material “would be inconsistent with the public interest.” FAR 25.603(a). These are determinations for the government to make, not the contractor. “ The regulations do not apply to Recovery Act Designated Countries (“RADC”) and nations who are bound by a signed document such as a treaty, free trade agreement or contract with the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement who produce construction material. However, some countries...

Words: 998 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Contracting Law

...supplies or the services rendered according to the contract’s terms. The invoices also contain any discounted or deducted amounts. The government is obligatory to pay upon deliveries unless they specify a due time to pay. For the purpose of selecting payments methods for the services and products purchased by the government agencies, FAR 32.113 should be referenced (Legal Information Institute, 1992). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the three payments options available to government and their advantages and disadvantages, three elements of the prompt Payment Act; next, it will discuss the key areas of cutting government costs, two revisions to TINA that will decrease the requirements for the government’s procurement of technical data and computer software. In the end, the paper will discuss the Buy American Act’s exceptions. Government Payment Options For purchasing the software for tax returns processing, contacting officers on behalf of Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) can select various effective payment methods. Contracting officer uses the customary contract financing ref. 32.113 for review and uses it without getting the permission from top management. The Contracting officer can select three payment methods that are progress payment, performance-based payments, and payment by government charge cards (52.232-1 Payments, n.d). Progress payments method: Progress payments method, as prescribed in 32.502-4(a), is used by the government to pay contractors on the demand of...

Words: 2038 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Persuasive Essay On Gun Laws

...the safety of themselves and others. Mentally ill people can be mentally unfit to possess a firearm. Each state has their own requirements to own a gun. Some places don’t require a...

Words: 518 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Health Care

...Should All Americans be required to Purchase Mandate Health Insurance? John Doe University of Maryland University College As legislators start to put forward a bill about the details of health care reform all Americans will be provided information about individual mandates. Individual mandates will require all Americans to have health insurance, similar to how Americans are compelled to purchase auto liability insurance. Individuals could buy health insurance through an insurer, an employer or a plan created by the government. The individual mandates also have incentives that will continue to keep the insurance companies at negotiating table with all Americans. This incentive is put in place to guarantee coverage for individuals regardless of any preexisting conditions. Moreover, it would offer insurance companies with millions of additional members and capital (McCarty, 2009). A large financial backing would be needed so healthy low-income citizens can be able to purchase mandate insurance. A significant amount of the funding can come from money being currently spent on financing hospitals, emergency and other uncompensated care to the uninsured. If this health care reform plan did not consist of a mandates numerous of individuals would remain uninsured, and those expenses would not be available to redistribute (McCarty, 2009). As a result, all American should be required to purchase health insurance. Why should individuals premiums continue to increase in order...

Words: 343 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Title

...Chapter 1 Financial Markets Financial markets perform two important functions. They transfer funds from savers into investments and they transfer title of ownership of existing securities from sellers to buyers. Financial markets and the transfer of savings Two basic methods exist for transferring funds from savers to users. First is direct investment when you start own business and invest your savings in the operation. A direct investment also occurs when securities are initially sold to investors in primary market. In the second markets, no funds are transferred and no new assets are created, there is only the transfer of ownership of an existing asset. The alternative to direct transfer of savings is an indirect transfer through a financial intermediary. You lend funds to the bank; the bank lends the funds to the ultimate borrower. The role of money Money: anything that is generally accepted as a means of payment. Liquidity: Ease of converting an asset into cash without loss, the depth of a financial market. Federal Reserve has the power to control the supply of money and to oversee the commercial banking system. Money supply: Total amount of money in circulation. 2 measures: M1: Sum of coins, currency, and demand deposits (checking account); M2: M1+saving accounts (70%), small certificates of deposits. The role of interest rates Interest is the cost of credit, the price paid for the use of someone else’s money. Generally, the longer the term of the debt...

Words: 5018 - Pages: 21

Premium Essay

Historical Report on Race/Ethnicity

...Historical Report on Race/Ethnicity Dominique Morant ETH125 December 7, 2012 Sherri Goodwin Historical Report on Race/Ethnicity Native Americans have crossed over onto America before the Bering Strait became a sea. According to Wikipedia (2012) from the 16th through the 19th centuries the population of Indians declined in the following ways: epidemic diseases brought from the Europe; genocide and warfare at the hands of Europeans explores and colonist, as well as between tribes; displacement from their lands; internal warfare, enslavement; and a high rate of intermarriage. Most mainstream scholars believe that, among the various contributing factors, epidemic disease was the overwhelming cause of the population decline of the American natives because of their lack of immunity of new diseases brought from Europe. (Wikipedia, 2012) Herndon (2012) stated, “In Virgina, the first colony, very tense relationships existed between the English colonists and the Indians confederacy headed by Powhatan, whose daughter, Pocahontas, because an intermediary between Englishmen and Native Americans. Upon the arrival of Lord De La Warr in 1610, war was declared against the surrounding native peoples, who signed peace treaty in 1614.” In 1622 the Indians, who were continually harassed by whiles greedy for land and whose numbers were dwindling because of disease, had had enough and began striking back, killing over 300 settlers, including John Rolfe (Herndon, 2012). According to Herndon...

Words: 790 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Va Home Loan Pros And Cons

...people who have worked in the armed forces, a VA mortgage continues to be the best way to buy a house. As opposed to conforming and perhaps FHA loans, veterans mortgage loans let home buyers lacking down money in the bank, let alone a not so high credit score, obtain a home without the need for money down. This can help make home ownership a real possibility for those who put their lives on the line to protect our country. There are some rewards in getting a VA home loan, but it's vital that you know the requirements prior to you submit your application. Benefits In addition to the low or zero down payment for a VA home loan, there are some added pros which may make this a more appealing option if you qualify for this loan program. The FHA loan program provide similar interest rates. Traditional mortgage loans are a fantastic alternative also. Unfortunately, should you not have 20 percent to use as a down payment when you close on your home loan, you will need to pay private mortgage insurance until your balance hits less than 80 percent of the home's worth. With VA home loans, there is no PMI, whether or not you put money down or take advantage of the no down payment alternative....

Words: 674 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Obamacare

...Another way Americans are facing higher costs is by an aspect of the Affordable Care Act that sets minimum requirements for deductibles, co-pays, services, and total out-of-pockets expenses. Insurance companies are cancelling thousands of existing insurance plans because the policies do not meet the minimum requirements. For example, Florida Blue is terminating about 80% of its individual policies in the state, which amounts to about 300,000 policies. These individuals will have to enroll in new health care plans by Dec 15th so that the policy will take effect on Jan 1st and to avoid the tax penalties. Obama repeatedly said during in campaign for the ACA “if you had a health insurance plan that you like, then you could keep it.” Then the statement changed to “if you had a health insurance plan that you like, then you can keep it if it complied with the new law.” Last week, President Obama has changed his position again and announced that insurance plans that do not meet the requirements may be able to skate by if the state regulators and the insurers agree. If the states and insurers agree to this, then the adverse selection problem will be even worse. Those who are healthy and happy with their current plan are more likely to stay with it and not buy insurance off the exchange. Also, those that do not qualify for subsidies are less likely to sign up for insurance from the exchanges. This leaves those chronically ill, elderly, and low-income people to sign up for Obamacare...

Words: 271 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Corporate Finance

...the investors. Moreover, the investors as well as firms don’t have enough information about the market. There exists a greater asymmetry in IPO market as compared to secondary market because there is no former data available for it. These asymmetries are somewhat limited by using book-building process to float initial public offerings instead of public auctions. The book-building process, which was first examined in the academic literature by Benveniste and Spindt (1989) and Benveniste and Wilhelm (1990), involves shares issuing company, investors and the intermediaries which are generally the investment banks. The investment bank first decides the price range or band for the bidding and then invites investors to evaluate and perhaps buy the issue. Next, investors evaluate the issue and provide the investment bank with preliminary indications of their demand for the issue. Finally, the investment bank prices the issue and allocates shares to investors, generally allocating more shares to investors who indicate higher levels of demand. Journal of Financial Economics 65 (2002) 3–29 Building the IPOorder book: underpricing and participation limits with costly information$ Ann E. Shermana,*, Sheridan Titmanb The investment bank reviews and assesses the entire relevant internal information of the company and then evaluates the shares to decide a price range for them. The information including company results, track record and...

Words: 2471 - Pages: 10