Among the many measures the US government has taken to promote domestic manufacturing is the Build America Buy America (BABA) Act. Some of its provisions are still being phased in for certain industries as prior waivers are removed, while others are already under its purview.

But what does this act entail, and where does it apply? Does the embedded industry need to worry about it? Here is a breakdown. 

What is the BABA Act? 

The Build America Buy America Act was instituted in 2021 to reduce America’s reliance on imports for critical infrastructure projects. Under this act, any infrastructure project utilizing Federal assistance in the United States must use materials produced domestically.

By its simplest understanding, the Act mandates that materials like iron, steel, and cement used in the construction of any federally assisted infrastructure be produced in America. But infrastructure covers more than just roads and bridges, and uses manufactured items too.

For these, the requirements are a bit different; the final assembly of any manufactured component used in infrastructure projects must be complete in the US. In addition, a significant fraction of the manufacturing or production of the product must take place domestically as well, with the exact percentage varying based on the product and industry in question. 

Does the BABA Act Apply to Embedded PCs? 

A common misconception is that the BABA Act only applies to raw materials or simple electrical components used in any infrastructure project. In reality, infrastructure projects can include things like transportation systems and utility systems, using embedded PCs as key components in their functioning.

In these cases, the BABA Act does apply and must be adhered to. This means that for any current and past projects, the embedded computers used must undergo final assembly in America.

The additional requirement to have the components manufactured domestically as well applies a bit differently depending on the industry. The transportation industry, for example, is required to have more than 55% of the input components sourced locally. 

Which Industries Are Affected? 

Essentially, any infrastructure project using federal funding comes under the ambit of the BABA Act. The thing is, infrastructure is a very broad term, and includes many critical industries that are not directly related to construction.

Transportation, for example, involves control and signaling systems that heavily use smart computers for their tasks. Water treatment facilities and other such municipal infrastructure also implement embedded systems for monitoring and automation, which need to adhere to the Act.

Then there are infrastructure projects like broadband and telecom that are built directly with scaled computing, and smart public buildings using panel PCs and other smaller devices for informative usage. And all of these are the direct industries that are federally sponsored; any project supplying to these niches also indirectly needs to meet the regulations of the BABA Act. 

What Do You Need to Do to Comply? 

If you are a company working on an infrastructure project or indirectly contracted to one, you need to start ticking off your BABA Act checkbox immediately. The main thing is maintaining a comprehensive bill of materials, including the source and supply chain journey of the key components.

This documentation helps you certify that your project meets the sourcing requirements of the Act, ensuring the release of federal funds. Particularly for now, you need to show that every manufactured product, including any embedded PC, was assembled in the US.

The easiest way of ensuring compliance with the BABA Act and other such relevant regulations is to source from an embedded systems provider that actually assembles its systems in America. The Global American has been doing this for more than 35 years, and we have the expertise and industry connections to source every type of embedded computing needs while adhering to all federal standards. We take care of all the regulatory homework for any systems we provide, ensuring a smooth approval process.