Buy American Act (BAA)
The Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. chapter 83) establishes a price preference for domestic end products in federal procurement for use inside the United States, applied through FAR Part 25 using a two-part test: U.S. manufacture plus minimum domestic component content.
The Buy American Act operates as a price preference, not a ban. Foreign offers stay in the competition; the government adds an evaluation factor to their price — 20 percent against a large domestic offeror, 30 percent when the domestic offeror is small (FAR 25.106), and 50 percent at DoD under DFARS 225.502.
A supply item qualifies as a domestic end product if it is manufactured in the United States and its domestic component cost clears the statutory threshold: 65 percent for items delivered through 2028, rising to 75 percent in 2029 (FAR 25.101). Most COTS items skip the component test; end products predominantly of iron or steel instead must keep foreign iron and steel under 5 percent of component cost.
The mistake practitioners hit most often is conflating the BAA with the Trade Agreements Act. At or above the applicable threshold, the TAA waives the Buy American statute for eligible products from designated countries, which then compete equally with domestic offers (FAR 25.402).
Regulatory Reference
41 U.S.C. ch. 83; FAR 25.101; FAR 25.106; FAR 25.402; DFARS 225.502
RFO Status
The RFO Part 25 model deviation keeps Buy American supplies policy in subpart 25.1 with the graduated content thresholds intact and adds a MadeinAmerica.gov waiver-portal step for nonavailability determinations, so confirm section numbers against your agency's class deviation.
Category
Regulations & Policy
How AcqBot Helps
AcqBot works out which domestic preference regime applies to a given acquisition — Buy American evaluation factors or a trade agreements waiver — from the estimated value and commodity, then drafts the matching Part 25 provisions and evaluation language for the solicitation.
Related glossary entries
Class Deviation
A class deviation authorizes an agency to depart from specific FAR or supplement provisions for a category of contract actions rather than a single case — the mechanism agencies are using to implement the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ahead of formal rulemaking.
Commercial Products and Services (FAR Part 12)
Commercial products and commercial services are items of a type sold, leased, licensed, or offered in the commercial marketplace, defined at FAR 2.101. FAR Part 12 implements the statutory preference for buying them whenever market research shows they can meet the agency's need.
Rule of Two
The rule of two directs a contracting officer to set aside an acquisition for small business when there is a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from at least two responsible small business concerns and making award at fair market prices, per FAR 19.502-2.
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) is information the government creates or possesses, or that an entity handles on its behalf, that a law, regulation, or governmentwide policy requires safeguarding or dissemination controls for — sensitive but not classified, governed by 32 CFR Part 2002.