• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Blogs » Think Tank » Will U.S. Manufacturers Benefit From a Stronger ‘Buy American’ Policy?

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

Global Trade Management / Sourcing/Procurement/SRM / Global Supply Chain Management / Global Trade & Economics / Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility / HR & Labor Management / Regulation & Compliance

Will U.S. Manufacturers Benefit From a Stronger ‘Buy American’ Policy?

March 15, 2021
Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain
U.S. Manufacturing
Photo: Bloomberg

President Biden’s executive order reaffirming the “Buy American” policy for federal government contracting is meant to close the loopholes that have permitted some foreign sourcing of goods and services. But can U.S. manufacturers step up the pace of production to take advantage of the action?

Biden is hardly the first U.S. president to push a Buy American stance; President Trump claimed a similar commitment. But in issuing the new order, Biden claimed that “the previous administration did not take it seriously enough. Federal agencies waived the Buy American requirement without much pushback at all. That is going to change on our watch.”

The executive order sets out an arduous procedure for acquiring a waiver from the Buy American requirement, calling for extensive review and justification “for the use of goods, products, or materials that have not been mined, produced or manufactured in the United States.” All such waivers must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget by way of a Made in America Office. In addition, the Administrator of General Services is directed to create a public website including information on all requested waivers and whether they have been granted.

When it comes to assessing the true origin of a given item, the order replaces a previous “component test” with one that measures the value “that is added to the product through U.S.-based production of U.S. job-supporting economic activity.” And it increases the threshold for domestic-content requirements covering end products and construction materials.

In cases where a foreign product is substantially cheaper than its American-made counterpart, the order dictates a determination as to whether the gap is the result of dumped steel, iron or manufactured goods by the foreign supplier.

For American workers, the big question is whether the new policy will mean more domestic manufacturing jobs. Steven Kramer, chief executive officer of WorkJam, creator of a digital task-management platform, predicts that it will. “It goes a lot deeper than any other policy,” he says. “We believe it’s going to have a significant impact on the rejuvenation of manufacturing and distribution in the U.S.”

Success won’t come automatically, however. U.S. companies will have to revamp operations in order to accommodate higher production rates and labor requirements while still turning a profit. “For organizations to adapt to what we believe will be significant growth, they will need to be super-organized,” says Kramer. That means optimizing and streamlining systems and business processes, especially with the help of digital technologies.

A move in that direction is especially vital in a time of pandemic, when worker safety is paramount. Digital transformation, says Kramer, “has to happen in order to train and upskill the workforce to execute tasks and have compliance around them.” The coming of the coronavirus, he adds, calls for “a whole new set of procedures to be followed.”

To a certain degree, “digitization” might be seen as a code word for “robots.” In other words, a resurgence of American manufacturing is unlikely to bring back as many domestic jobs as were lost during decades of offshoring to China and other sources of low-cost production.

“Yes, technology will lead to not as many people being required,” Kramer acknowledges, “but people are still an important part of this equation, and they don’t get eliminated.” Humans will be needed in call centers and key logistics roles, and even in some hourly positions that one might expect to be roboticized.

Kramer does see an increase in the share of temporary and gig workers versus permanent employs. That’s especially the case in times of low unemployment, which was the norm before the pandemic and is likely to return with economic recovery.

“As we come out of the pandemic, there will be more supply on the market from a resource perspective,” he says. “It will be interesting to see how that fleshes out in a year or two.”

Expect some domestic manufacturers to keep costs low by limiting the number of permanent hires. At the same time, Kramer says, they’ll continue to push for flexibility in scheduling. Manufacturers and retailers alike want the ability to staff up or down depending on the season or time of day. Some workers will respond favorably to such actions, while others will rebel against the consequent uncertainty and schedule irregularity.

Exactly how domestic producers choose to balance these sensitive factors remains to be seen. But one thing seems indisputable: as U.S. manufacturing gears up to meet greater production requirements resulting from tighter Buy American provisions, the sector is going to look dramatically different than it did in its prior heyday.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: J&J Pause Could Last Several Weeks; Global Vaccine Production Nears 2 Billion

    Coronavirus
  • Shipping Costs

    Higher Shipping Costs Are Here to Stay, Sparking Price Increases

    Coronavirus
  • Ocado

    Kroger Is Amassing a Robot Army to Battle Amazon, Walmart

    Logistics
  • Shipping Logjam

    Reducing Supply-Chain Disruptions Through Integrated Logistics

    Coronavirus
  • Indoor Farm

    Vertical Farming: A Solution to Waste and Inefficiency in the Food Supply Chain?

    Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2021 lg

2021 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • Remote Implementation: A Dose of the Right Medicine for B2B Pharmacy

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming 6 River Systems ArcBest
Armada aThingz BluJay
Burris Logistics DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association)
DHL Resilience360 Flash Global Genpact
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Honeywell Corporate Honeywell Intelligrated Infor
Inmar Kibo Commerce Kinaxis
Logility Magnitude Software MPO
Old Dominion Oliver Wight OpenSky
Paccurate Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
S&H Systems Snapfulfil TGW Systems
Tradepoint Atlantic Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2021 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing