Close Build America, Buy America loopholes for defense manufacturing

What has happened

1. Jul 20, 2026 Partially done

   EO 14415 closes the waiver loophole directly: from 1 January 2027 the Secretary of War and the service secretaries "shall cease to issue waivers" under 10 U.S.C. 4872(c)(1) for covered materials except against an accepted mitigation plan, and a contractor's failure to qualify a domestic source "shall not constitute non-availability" for waiver purposes. Sec. 3 requires prime contractors and subcontractors at any tier to map critical supply chains back to raw materials. The order states as policy that both finished equipment and the critical materials and components behind it "are sourced domestically or from allied nations."

   • Executive Order 14415, Securing America's Defense Supply Chains and Ensuring Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials

     Primary Executive branch Jul 20, 2026

2. Dec 18, 2025 Partially done

   The FY2026 NDAA title VIII subtitles D and E tighten defense sourcing: sec. 843 narrows the national-security waiver for the strategic-materials sourcing requirement, sec. 848 clarifies the prohibition on materials mined, refined or separated in certain countries, sec. 842 bars advanced batteries from certain foreign sources, secs. 844, 845, 847, 849, 850 and 851 add further prohibitions, and sec. 837 accelerates qualification of compliant sources. Domestic and allied content requirements strengthened for defense procurement; the Build America, Buy America Act itself untouched.

   • National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119-60)

     Primary Congress Dec 18, 2025