What is Build America, Buy America?
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, incorporated within the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), mandates a baseline “Buy America” requirement for all infrastructure projects receiving federal financial assistance. This requirement applies to three main categories:
- Iron or Steel Products: Must be entirely manufactured in the United States, from the initial melting stage through to the application of coatings.
- Manufactured Products: Must be manufactured in the United States with more than 55% of the total cost of components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States.
- Construction Materials: All manufacturing processes must occur within the United States.
Manufacturers must navigate these stringent sourcing and manufacturing requirements, which vary slightly depending on the federal agency involved. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provides overarching guidance; however, individual agencies can adopt specific rules, waivers, and interpretations, leading to potential variability.
What does BABA mean in your product selection?
Selecting BABA compliant products for your U.S. infrastructure project could help you to receive federal financial assistance.
BABA at nVent HOFFMAN
nVent HOFFMAN strives to be a supplier of choice for BABA compliant products for our customer’s project needs. They work to certify selected products to the best of their knowledge and review all Iron, Steel, Manufactured Products, Section 70917(c), and Construction Materials provide by nVent HOFFMAN, comply with the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requirements of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117 – 58, § § 70901 – 70953) and guidance provided in 2 CFR 184, or are the subject of a waiver approved by the secretary of the agency purchasing the end product or designee.
A BABA compliant icon will display on product and SKU pages for those that have been determined to qualify as BABA compliant.
Learn more about BABA compliant solutions from nVent HOFFMAN!