Biden to promote ‘Made in America’ products
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will sign a series of executive orders on Monday to promote ‘Made in America’ products and strengthen supply chains, senior officials said, asserting that the new administration remains committed to working with partners and allies to modernise international trade rules.
Prominent among the executive orders include a strict enforcement of procuring products made inside the country by federal agencies. This is very significant given that contracting alone accounts for nearly $600 billion in federal spending.
Biden is taking action to reset the US government’s long standing approach to domestic preferences to create an approach that will remain durable for years to come and grow quality, union jobs, according to a senior administration official.
It is long overdue that the US government utilises the full force of current domestic preferences to support America’s workers and businesses, strengthening the economy, workers, and communities across the country, the official said.
The President’s Executive Order establishes the goals and standards necessary to use federal purchasing, and other forms of federal assistance with domestic preference requirements, as a way to proactively invest in American industry so it can continue to lead in the global marketplace, the White House said.
For the executive order, “Made in America” refers to domestic preferences related to federal procurement, federal grants, and other forms of federal assistance. Buy American and Buy America refers to the specific statutes that go by those names, it said.
The executive order to be signed by Biden at the White House, directs agencies to close current loopholes in how domestic content is measured and increase domestic content requirements and appoints a new senior leader in the Executive Office of the President in charge of the government’s “Made in America” policy approach.
Meanwhile, Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration tried to head off Republican concerns that his $1.9 trillion pandemic relief proposal was too expensive on a Sunday call with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some of whom pushed for a smaller plan targeting vaccine distribution.
Lawmakers from both parties said they had agreed that getting the COVID-19 vaccine to Americans should be a priority, but some Republicans objected to such a hefty package only a month after Congress passed a $900 billion relief measure.