President Biden is expanding rules for federal agencies to buy US-made products.- Biden plans an immediate rise from 55% to 60% for US-made products in federal government contracts.
- Biden wants to further hike the figure to 75% in future, the White House said.
President Joe Biden wants federal agencies to immediately increase the share of US-made products in their procurement contracts.
The White House announced in a fact sheet Wednesday that government agencies would need to ensure 60% of the products they buy with taxpayer dollars were made in the US.
At the moment, federal agencies are required under the "Buy American" law to buy products where at least 55% of component parts are made in the country.
But the Biden administration is seeking an "immediate increase" to 60%, and plans to further hike the threshold to 75%, the fact sheet said.
The threshold would increase to 75% in stages by 2029, Reuters reported.
The fact sheet adds detail to Biden's executive order signed in January, which aimed to harness the US government's enormous purchasing power to promote US-made products by tightening federal procurement rules.
Under the new rule, federal agencies would also have to report the total US-made content for certain purchases, rather than certifying that they meet the threshold, the fact sheet said.
The fact sheet also said that raising the threshold would "create more opportunities for small- and medium-sized manufacturers and their employees."
The president is expected to discuss the proposal at Mack Trucks plant in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, where he will meet with local union members and receive a briefing on the company's new EV garbage truck, Jen Psaki, the White House's press secretary, said Tuesday.
Biden will emphasize "the importance of American manufacturing, [and] buying products made in America," Psaki said.
The US government spends $600 billion every year, with almost half used to buy products, The White House said.
Interested parties have 60 days to comment on the proposed rule before it is finalized, unnamed officials told Reuters.