The General Services Administration (GSA) is looking for input on how to make it easier for federal agencies to buy American-made products through the GSA Advantage! Marketplace.
In a request for information (RFI), GSA said it hopes to “regenerate an important part of the American economy” and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers of critical goods and services.
“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States, GSA is prioritizing American suppliers and seeking industry feedback to reach this goal most effectively,” GSA Administrator Edward Forst said in a press release.
“The Trump Administration’s and GSA’s enhanced focus on procuring US-made products will strengthen our economy, create resilient supply chains, and bolster America’s workforce,” Forst said.
GSA Advantage! is the government’s online shopping and ordering system that provides federal, state, and local agencies access to millions of products and services from thousands of contractors.
According to the RFI, GSA is considering two approaches to promote the purchase of American-made products.
The first approach is to identify products that meet the Buy American Act (BAA) component test on GSA Advantage. Those products would receive an icon on GSA Advantage and appear higher in search results when they match a buyer’s query.
If buyers choose a different product, GSA would ask them to complete a survey to better understand the factors influencing their purchasing decisions.
The second approach is for GSA to possibly create a new Special Item Number (SIN) for products that meet the BAA component test.
“The SIN would be limited to one or more selected product categories and would be exclusive to original equipment manufacturers,” the RFI says.
Responses to the RFI are due on July 24.
Beyond the RFI, GSA said that it has made significant strides in its commitment to the Made in America initiative. For example, the agency said it strengthened its oversight of contractor compliance with the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) within its programs, including the Federal Supply Schedules (FSS).
GSA said it is also committed to managing supply chain risk and regularly monitors its FSS contracts to respond immediately to emergent risks.
“Through this, GSA guards against products not from authorized resellers, items manufactured by congressionally prohibited entities, and out of date IT equipment that pose security risks,” GSA said in the press release. “In FY25, GSA prevented 70,915 TAA non-compliant items from ever being awarded to a GSA contract and removed approximately 39,000 items for non-compliance.”