WASHINGTON—President Biden signed an executive order Monday imposing tougher rules on government procurement practices to increase purchases of products made in the U.S., a step toward fulfilling his Buy American campaign pledge to strengthen domestic manufacturing.
The new policies include tightening the government procurement rules to make it harder for federal agencies to purchase imported products, revising the definition of American-made products and raising local-content requirements. The executive order also ensures that small and midsize businesses will have better access to information needed to bid for government contracts.
While their styles are different, Mr. Biden’s Buy American initiative has similarities to Mr. Trump’s domestic preference policy, which was part of his America First policy that featured tariff wars with China and other trading partners.
Mr. Biden’s Buy American policy is being watched closely by America’s allies, which are hoping for friendlier trade relationships than during the Trump administration. Mr. Biden has repeatedly said he would work more closely with allies and multilateral trade rules.
Canada’s Foreign Minister, Marc Garneau, told Canadian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau relayed the country’s concerns about a Buy American program to Mr. Biden during a Friday phone call between the North American leaders.
