Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump signed an executive order encouraging federal agencies to use more American-made steel and other American-made products in infrastructure projects they may finance in the future.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul released the following statement:
"The president deserves credit for identifying serious, government-wide gaps in Buy America coverage. While this executive order encourages agencies to do a better job, the president should do more.
"The president should take the next step and use his executive powers to actually require agencies to apply Buy America rules where they do not currently apply. And, he should work with lawmakers to strengthen Buy America as Congress develops an infrastructure package. There is already strong bipartisan congressional backing and overwhelming voter support for these policies, making it the perfect issue for the president and Congress to work on together.
"Americans expect their hard-earned tax dollars to be spent on American-made goods. Yet, billions are spent on imported items each year for government procurement, military and infrastructure purposes. The United States is the world's biggest customer. Its buying power can be a strong incentive to encourage companies to undertake manufacturing in the United States and employ American workers.
"We know that when we give our highly productive workforce the first chance to make the goods our government buys, it is rarely necessary to look elsewhere."
BACKGROUND: Find more about the administration's Buy America efforts in this piece by Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Trade Policy and Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro.
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