Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects, 2039-2041 [2019-01426]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 5, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 2039-2041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-01426]



[[Page 2037]]

Vol. 84

Tuesday,

No. 24

February 5, 2019

Part IV





The President





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



Executive Order 13858--Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for 
Infrastructure Projects


                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 24 / Tuesday, February 5, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 2039]]

                Executive Order 13858 of January 31, 2019

                
Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for 
                Infrastructure Projects

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, and to strengthen Buy-American principles in 
                Federal financial assistance programs, it is hereby 
                ordered as follows:

                Section 1. Policy. As expressed in Executive Order 
                13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire 
                American), it is the policy of the executive branch to 
                maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, 
                products, and materials produced in the United States, 
                in Federal procurements and through the terms and 
                conditions of Federal financial assistance awards.

                Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:

                    (a) ``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.
                    (b) ``Federal financial assistance'' shall have the 
                meaning and shall be interpreted consistent with the 
                definition provided by the Office of Management and 
                Budget's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost 
                Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, 
                found at section 200.40 of title 2, Code of Federal 
                Regulations.
                    (c) ``Manufactured products'' means items and 
                construction materials composed in whole or in part of 
                non-ferrous metals such as aluminum; plastics and 
                polymer-based products such as polyvinyl chloride pipe; 
                aggregates such as concrete; glass, including optical 
                fiber; and lumber.
                    (d) ``Infrastructure project'' means a project to 
                develop public or private physical assets that are 
                designed to provide or support services to the general 
                public in the following sectors: surface 
                transportation, including roadways, bridges, railroads, 
                and transit; aviation; ports, including navigational 
                channels; water resources projects; energy production, 
                generation, and storage, including from fossil-fuels, 
                renewable, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources; 
                electricity transmission; gas, oil, and propane storage 
                and transmission; electric, oil, natural gas, and 
                propane distribution systems; broadband internet; 
                pipelines; stormwater and sewer infrastructure; 
                drinking water infrastructure; cybersecurity; and any 
                other sector designated through a notice published in 
                the Federal Register by the Federal Permitting 
                Improvement Steering Council.
                    (e) ``Covered program'' means any program for which 
                a focus of the statutory authorities under which it is 
                administered is the award of Federal financial 
                assistance for the alteration, construction, 
                conversion, demolition, extension, improvement, 
                maintenance, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair 
                of an infrastructure project in the United States, 
                except that this term shall not include:

(i) programs for which providing a domestic preference is inconsistent with 
law; or

(ii) programs providing Federal financial assistance that are subject to 
comparable domestic preferences.

                    (f) ``Domestic Preference'' means a preference for 
                the purchase, acquisition, or use of goods, products, 
                or materials produced in the United States,

[[Page 2040]]

                including iron and aluminum as well as steel, cement, 
                and other manufactured products.

                Sec. 3. Application of Buy-American Principles to 
                Covered Programs. (a) Within 90 days of the date of 
                this order, the head of each executive department and 
                agency (agency) administering a covered program shall, 
                as appropriate and to the extent consistent with law, 
                encourage recipients of new Federal financial 
                assistance awards pursuant to a covered program to use, 
                to the greatest extent practicable, iron and aluminum 
                as well as steel, cement, and other manufactured 
                products produced in the United States in every 
                contract, subcontract, purchase order, or sub-award 
                that is chargeable against such Federal financial 
                assistance award.

                    (b) The head of each agency administering a covered 
                program shall include in the report required by section 
                4 of this order a detailed explanation of the strategy, 
                plan, or program developed to satisfy the requirement 
                of subsection (a) of this section.

                Sec. 4. Identification of Opportunities to Maximize the 
                Use of Buy-American Principles. Within 120 days of the 
                date of this order, the head of each agency 
                administering a covered program shall identify in a 
                report to the President, through the Assistant to the 
                President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy, any 
                tools, techniques, terms, or conditions that have been 
                used or could be used, consistent with law and in 
                furtherance of the policy set forth in section 1 of 
                this order, to maximize the use of iron and aluminum as 
                well as steel, cement, and other manufactured products 
                produced in the United States in contracts, sub-
                contracts, purchase orders, or sub-awards that are 
                chargeable against Federal financial assistance awards 
                for infrastructure projects. In preparing this report, 
                the agency head shall take care to analyze whether 
                covered programs within the agency head's jurisdiction 
                would support, through terms and conditions on new 
                Federal financial assistance awards under such covered 
                programs, the imposition of a requirement to use iron 
                and aluminum as well as steel, cement, and other 
                manufactured products produced in the United States in 
                contracts, sub-contracts, purchase orders, or sub-
                awards that are chargeable against such Federal 
                financial assistance awards.

                Sec. 5. Amendment to Executive Order 13788. Subsection 
                1(a) of Executive Order 13788 is hereby amended by 
                substituting ``Federal financial assistance'' for 
                ``Federal grants''.

                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.

[[Page 2041]]

                    (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,

                    January 31, 2019.

[FR Doc. 2019-01426
Filed 2-4-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P