Learn which materials the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) covers, how to prove they're made in the US and when a waiver applies.
The Build America, Buy America Act, known as BABA, is a US law that requires iron, steel, manufactured products and construction materials used in federally funded infrastructure projects to be produced in the United States. It became law on November 15, 2021, as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and agencies started applying it on May 14, 2022.
BABA compliance means proving your project meets that rule. The law sets a domestic content preference, known as the Buy America preference, and federal agencies have to write it into grants, loans and other awards for infrastructure work. Unless a waiver applies, covered materials can only go into the project if they meet it.
Compliance rests on records. Those records have to show which category each material falls into and whether it clears the domestic content test.
BABA applies to infrastructure projects paid for with federal financial assistance, including grants and loans. Each funding agency applies it through its own programs and waivers, as EPA’s BABA overview shows.
The duty doesn't stop with the agency. Under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD’s) implementation notice, the terms of a federal award flow down to subrecipients at all tiers, so every subgrantee, contractor and developer using the funds has to comply.
The law defines infrastructure broadly. It covers roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, broadband, energy and utilities, plus buildings and real property. HUD, for example, treats housing projects with five or more units as public infrastructure. Projects with one to four units count as private and fall outside the rule.
Three groups carry most of the work:
Grant recipients and subrecipients: Classify materials, keep project records and pass the requirement down in contracts
Contractors and subcontractors: Buy compliant materials and certify what goes into the project
Manufacturers and suppliers: Show where products are made and what they're made of
The rule doesn't cover every federal dollar. HUD notes that it excludes pre- and post-disaster and emergency response spending under the Stafford Act. Equipment and tools brought to a site and removed when the work ends are also outside it.
The law sorts covered materials into three categories. Each item goes into one category only, and its form when it arrives at the work site decides which one.
Category | What counts as produced in the US |
|---|---|
Iron and steel products | All manufacturing, from initial melting through coating, happens in the US. A product counts as iron or steel when those metals make up more than 50% of its component cost |
Manufactured products | Manufacturing happens in the US, and US-made components cost more than 55% of the total cost of all components |
Construction materials | All manufacturing processes happen in the US. Covered items are non-ferrous metals, plastic and polymer-based products, glass, fiber optic cable, optical fiber, lumber, engineered wood and drywall |
Cement, aggregates and similar materials sit in a separate group. Wet concrete or hot asphalt used at the work site falls outside the rule. The same materials can still be components of a manufactured product, such as precast concrete.
Timing matters too. Agencies phased the rule in at different times. HUD's schedule, for example, depends on the program, the material category and the date funds were obligated.
BABA compliance asks for its own set of rules, not just a “Made in USA” label. HUD’s guidance lists a product label as one example of supporting evidence, alongside product specs, manufacturer certificates and signed certifications. The label alone doesn't answer the category question or the 55% cost test.
HUD tells grantees that project records should do four things:
Document why the rule applies to the project, or why it doesn't
Show that covered materials came from compliant sources, or which waiver applied
Hold the paperwork behind any waiver, including the approved waiver and the market research
Stay available for monitoring and follow the program's records retention rules
For each covered material, HUD suggests keeping a procurement list that records:
Material type: Iron or steel, manufactured product or construction material
Product details: Product name, manufacturer or vendor and who bought it
Funding details: Funding source and obligation date
Cost: Cost per unit and total cost
Proof of US origin: A manufacturer certificate, product specs or a signed contractor certification
Signed certifications matter. HUD's sample form warns that anyone who knowingly submits a false statement can face criminal and civil penalties.
Agencies can waive the requirement in three situations:
Public interest: Applying the rule would conflict with the public interest
Nonavailability: The material isn't produced in the US in sufficient, reasonably available quantities or of satisfactory quality
Unreasonable cost: Using US-made materials would raise the overall project cost by more than 25%
Before issuing a waiver, the agency has to post its reasoning and take public comment for at least 15 days.
Some waivers are general. HUD's de minimis waiver, for example, lets a project use foreign or unknown-origin materials up to 5% of the total cost of covered materials, capped at $1 million. Project-specific waivers work differently. Only the direct recipient should apply, and HUD says they can't be approved after the fact for items already bought or installed. Applicants also need market research, such as supplier scouting results or good-faith contact with at least three manufacturers.
Records are easier to build as materials arrive than to rebuild before an audit. A simple routine helps:
Flag covered materials before purchase. Match each item to a category and check whether a waiver applies.
Ask suppliers for proof up front. Request certificates and component cost breakdowns before the order ships. Good procurement management helps here, because the requirement sits in the purchase order from the start.
Check at delivery. Compare what arrives against the order, the specs and the certificates. A receiving inspection at the loading dock is a good place to catch a mismatch.
Log and fix problems. If something doesn't match, record it, assign an owner and hold the material until it's sorted.
File everything in one place. Keep certificates, photos and approvals together by project so you can answer a records request fast.
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