With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure must comply with domestic content procurement preference requirements established in the “Build America, Buy America Act” at Section 70911 et seq. (“Buy America”). Buy America’s domestic content procurement preference applies to all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used for infrastructure projects under an award. These requirements take effect on May 14, 2022; however, parties may seek waivers under certain circumstances. |
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Applicable Laws and Policies:
When can the Buy America Domestic Sourcing Requirements be waived? In accordance with Section 70914 (b), agencies may waive the Buy America domestic content procurement preference requirements if the agency finds that:
How do I submit a waiver request? First, check the DOI General Applicability Waivers to determine if your project or materials meet the criteria of one of the already approved DOI-wide waivers. If the criteria are met, a separate waiver is not required. If your project or materials do not meet the general applicability waiver criteria, you may submit a waiver request directly to the financial assistance awarding officer for your grant or cooperative agreement. The waiver request justification should include a detailed justification for the use of goods, products, or materials mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States and a certification that the non-Federal entity made a good faith effort to solicit bids for domestic products supported by terms included in requests for proposals, contracts, and nonproprietary communications with potential suppliers. To assist your financial assistance awarding officer with processing your request, note that the below information must be completed (as applicable) on your waiver request form.
Entities applying for a waiver shall not include any Privacy Act information, sensitive data, or proprietary information within their waiver requests. How will I know if my waiver was approved? If the DOI determines that your waiver request (in whole or in part) appears to meet the legal and policy criteria of Buy America, and in accordance with Section 70914 (c), the DOI will post its proposed waiver justification for public comment for a period of not less than 15 days to the DOI Waiver Requests Available for Public Comment page. The DOI will post approved waivers on the DOI Approved Buy America Requests page, and your financial assistance awarding officer will notify you if your waiver request was approved. |