Steelworkers union supports White House move to make Buy American waivers public

The United Steelworkers union said it supports the White House's move to make Buy American waiver requests public in an effort to increase transparency around these decisions.

Celeste Drake, director of the Made in America Office at the Office of Management and Budget, announced the change in a blog post Nov. 17.

The move comes on the heels of President Joe Biden's signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Nov. 15, which includes Buy American provisions for the $1.2 trillion in federal infrastructure spending.

The waivers to Made-in-America laws will be available at MadeInAmerica.gov for the public to view, scrutinize, and assess, Drake said. Real-time updates will be available on the site from the point a waiver is submitted to when a decision is made. Decisions will also be made public, she said.

"Under a longstanding process, agencies can waive Made in America requirements when a mission-critical product is not made in the United States, is not available at a reasonable cost, or is otherwise not in the public interest," she said. "Historically, agencies have done this independently and with little transparency."

Tom Conway, international president of the USW said the union welcomes the new waiver process as it offers "much needed" transparency and will streamline requirements across different agencies.

"While there may be instances when required materials are not available, by now making information about waivers public and consistent, the Made in America Office is helping to close loopholes and position domestic businesses to better connect with opportunities to fill these needs," Conway said in a statement.

Biden established the Made in America Office at the Office of Management and Budget in January.