Buy American Act changes enhance reshoring trend.

• Date: 09 June 2022

Some South Carolina-based suppliers are feeling a burst of demand as domestic content percentages for materials used in public projects are set to go into effect in October.

The Buy American Act not to be confused with the Reagan-era Buy America Act was first created in 1933 to give preference to domestic manufacturers.

The bill has evolved over the years, but in January 2021, the Biden Administration passed an executive order sparking "the most robust changes to the implementation of the Buy American Act in almost 70 years," according to a White House news release.

The order raised the percentage of domestic content required in public projects from today's 55% to 60% starting Oct. 22, according to a document published by Federal Register.

By 2024, the required percentage will climb to 65%, and in 2029, to 75%. The initial increase to 60% will occur several months from publication of the final rule, according to the Defense Department, General Services Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration document.

Andrew McAllister, partner with Washington D.C-based Holland & Knight, shared in a webinar that...