Buy American and Hire American, 18837-18839 [2017-08311]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 76 (Friday, April 21, 2017)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 18837-18839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08311]



[[Page 18835]]

Vol. 82

Friday,

No. 76

April 21, 2017

Part II





The President





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Executive Order 13788--Buy American and Hire American


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 82 , No. 76 / Friday, April 21, 2017 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 18837]]

                Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017

                
Buy American and Hire American

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and to ensure the faithful execution of the 
                laws, it is hereby ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Definitions. As used in this order:

                    (a) ``Buy American Laws'' means all statutes, 
                regulations, rules, and Executive Orders relating to 
                Federal procurement or Federal grants--including those 
                that refer to ``Buy America'' or ``Buy American''--that 
                require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or 
                acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced 
                in the United States, including iron, steel, and 
                manufactured goods.
                    (b) ``Produced in the United States'' means, for 
                iron and steel products, that all manufacturing 
                processes, from the initial melting stage through the 
                application of coatings, occurred in the United States.
                    (c) ``Petition beneficiaries'' means aliens 
                petitioned for by employers to become nonimmigrant visa 
                holders with temporary work authorization under the H-
                1B visa program.
                    (d) ``Waivers'' means exemptions from or waivers of 
                Buy American Laws, or the procedures and conditions 
                used by an executive department or agency (agency) in 
                granting exemptions from or waivers of Buy American 
                Laws.
                    (e) ``Workers in the United States'' and ``United 
                States workers'' shall both be defined as provided at 
                section 212(n)(4)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(4)(E)).

                Sec. 2. Policy. It shall be the policy of the executive 
                branch to buy American and hire American.

                    (a) Buy American Laws. In order to promote economic 
                and national security and to help stimulate economic 
                growth, create good jobs at decent wages, strengthen 
                our middle class, and support the American 
                manufacturing and defense industrial bases, it shall be 
                the policy of the executive branch to maximize, 
                consistent with law, through terms and conditions of 
                Federal financial assistance awards and Federal 
                procurements, the use of goods, products, and materials 
                produced in the United States.
                    (b) Hire American. In order to create higher wages 
                and employment rates for workers in the United States, 
                and to protect their economic interests, it shall be 
                the policy of the executive branch to rigorously 
                enforce and administer the laws governing entry into 
                the United States of workers from abroad, including 
                section 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)).

                Sec. 3. Immediate Enforcement and Assessment of 
                Domestic Preferences According to Buy American Laws. 
                (a) Every agency shall scrupulously monitor, enforce, 
                and comply with Buy American Laws, to the extent they 
                apply, and minimize the use of waivers, consistent with 
                applicable law.

                    (b) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the 
                heads of all agencies shall:

(i) assess the monitoring of, enforcement of, implementation of, and 
compliance with Buy American Laws within their agencies;

(ii) assess the use of waivers within their agencies by type and impact on 
domestic jobs and manufacturing; and

[[Page 18838]]

(iii) develop and propose policies for their agencies to ensure that, to 
the extent permitted by law, Federal financial assistance awards and 
Federal procurements maximize the use of materials produced in the United 
States, including manufactured products; components of manufactured 
products; and materials such as steel, iron, aluminum, and cement.

                    (c) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, the United 
                States Trade Representative, and the Federal 
                Acquisition Regulatory Council, shall issue guidance to 
                agencies about how to make the assessments and to 
                develop the policies required by subsection (b) of this 
                section.
                    (d) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the 
                heads of all agencies shall submit findings made 
                pursuant to the assessments required by subsection (b) 
                of this section to the Secretary of Commerce and the 
                Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
                    (e) Within 150 days of the date of this order, the 
                Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade 
                Representative shall assess the impacts of all United 
                States free trade agreements and the World Trade 
                Organization Agreement on Government Procurement on the 
                operation of Buy American Laws, including their impacts 
                on the implementation of domestic procurement 
                preferences.
                    (f) The Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with 
                the Secretary of State, the Director of the Office of 
                Management and Budget, and the United States Trade 
                Representative, shall submit to the President a report 
                on Buy American that includes findings from subsections 
                (b), (d), and (e) of this section. This report shall be 
                submitted within 220 days of the date of this order and 
                shall include specific recommendations to strengthen 
                implementation of Buy American Laws, including domestic 
                procurement preference policies and programs. 
                Subsequent reports on implementation of Buy American 
                Laws shall be submitted by each agency head annually to 
                the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget, on November 15, 2018, 
                2019, and 2020, and in subsequent years as directed by 
                the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the 
                Office of Management and Budget. The Secretary of 
                Commerce shall submit to the President an annual report 
                based on these submissions beginning January 15, 2019.

                Sec. 4. Judicious Use of Waivers. (a) To the extent 
                permitted by law, public interest waivers from Buy 
                American Laws should be construed to ensure the maximum 
                utilization of goods, products, and materials produced 
                in the United States.

                    (b) To the extent permitted by law, determination 
                of public interest waivers shall be made by the head of 
                the agency with the authority over the Federal 
                financial assistance award or Federal procurement under 
                consideration.
                    (c) To the extent permitted by law, before granting 
                a public interest waiver, the relevant agency shall 
                take appropriate account of whether a significant 
                portion of the cost advantage of a foreign-sourced 
                product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, 
                or manufactured goods or the use of injuriously 
                subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured goods, and it 
                shall integrate any findings into its waiver 
                determination as appropriate.

                Sec. 5. Ensuring the Integrity of the Immigration 
                System in Order to ``Hire American.'' (a) In order to 
                advance the policy outlined in section 2(b) of this 
                order, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, 
                the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security shall, as soon as practicable, and consistent 
                with applicable law, propose new rules and issue new 
                guidance, to supersede or revise previous rules and 
                guidance if appropriate, to protect the interests of 
                United States workers in the administration of our 
                immigration system, including through the prevention of 
                fraud or abuse.

[[Page 18839]]

                    (b) In order to promote the proper functioning of 
                the H-1B visa program, the Secretary of State, the 
                Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, and the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security shall, as soon as 
                practicable, suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B 
                visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid 
                petition beneficiaries.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof;

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals; or

(iii) existing rights or obligations under international agreements.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    April 18, 2017.

[FR Doc. 2017-08311
Filed 4-20-17; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F7-P