FAR 52.225-1—Buy American-Supplies
Plain-English Summary
FAR 52.225-1, Buy American-Supplies, is the core solicitation clause that tells offerors and contractors when they must provide domestic end products instead of foreign end products for supplies acquired for use in the United States. It defines the key terms that drive the Buy American analysis, including commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item, component, cost of components, critical component, domestic end product, end product, fastener, foreign end product, foreign iron and steel, produced in the United States, predominantly of iron or steel, steel, and United States. The clause also explains the statutory preference under 41 U.S.C. chapter 83, the special treatment for COTS items under 41 U.S.C. 1907, and the limited iron-and-steel-only test that applies to certain COTS end products. It gives offerors a mechanism to ask the contracting officer for a list of foreign articles that will be treated as domestic for the contract. In practice, this clause affects sourcing, pricing, compliance certifications, and supply-chain documentation, because contractors must know whether each offered item qualifies as domestic and whether any foreign content is allowed under the solicitation’s Buy American Certificate.
Key Rules
Buy American preference applies
The clause implements the Buy American statute for supplies acquired for use in the United States and requires a preference for domestic end products. Contractors should assume domestic content matters unless an exception, waiver, or special rule applies.
COTS items get special treatment
For COTS end products, the domestic content test is waived under 41 U.S.C. 1907, except that if the item is wholly or predominantly iron or steel, the test applies only to the iron and steel content, excluding COTS fasteners. This is a major simplification for commercial supply chains, but it does not eliminate all Buy American review.
Domestic end product definition controls
Whether an item is domestic depends on how it is made and what it contains. For non-iron/steel items, an unmanufactured item mined or produced in the United States is domestic, and a manufactured item is domestic if the applicable U.S.-content threshold is met or if it is a COTS item; for iron/steel items, the special 5 percent foreign iron/steel rule applies.
Domestic content thresholds change over time
For non-iron/steel manufactured end products, the cost of U.S.-mined, U.S.-produced, or U.S.-manufactured components must exceed 60 percent of total component cost, but the threshold rises to 65 percent for items delivered in calendar years 2024 through 2028 and 75 percent for items delivered starting in calendar year 2029. Contractors must use the delivery date, not just the award date, when applying the threshold.
Iron and steel have stricter rules
For end products wholly or predominantly of iron or steel, the product is domestic only if manufactured in the United States and foreign iron and steel is less than 5 percent of the cost of all components. The clause also defines produced in the United States to require all manufacturing processes from initial melting through coating to occur in the United States, subject to a narrow metallurgical refinement exception.
Origin and cost rules are specific
The clause gives detailed cost rules for components purchased by the contractor and components manufactured by the contractor, including transportation costs and applicable duties, but excluding profit. Unknown-origin components are treated as foreign, and foreign components of a class or kind found unavailable in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of satisfactory quality may be treated as domestic if the agency makes that determination.
Foreign articles may be treated as domestic
Offerors may request from the contracting officer a list of foreign articles that will be treated as domestic for the contract. This is a contract-specific mechanism that can reduce uncertainty, but it depends on the contracting officer’s determination and should be obtained before relying on the treatment.
Contractor must deliver domestic end products
Unless the offeror specifically identifies foreign end products in the solicitation’s Buy American Certificate, the contractor must deliver only domestic end products. The certification and the clause work together, so the offeror’s proposal and the eventual contract performance must align.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Include the clause when prescribed, evaluate Buy American compliance, and administer the solicitation’s Buy American Certificate process. The contracting officer may also provide a list of foreign articles that will be treated as domestic for the contract and must apply the clause’s definitions and exceptions consistently.
Offeror
Determine whether each offered supply is a domestic end product or a foreign end product, complete the Buy American Certificate accurately, and request a list of foreign articles treated as domestic if needed. The offeror must understand component origin, cost calculations, and whether any item qualifies as COTS or iron-and-steel subject to the special rule.
Contractor
Deliver only domestic end products unless the solicitation expressly allows specified foreign end products. The contractor must maintain sourcing and cost records sufficient to support domestic-content determinations and ensure that substitutions or supply-chain changes do not create noncompliance.
Agency
Apply the Buy American statute and related policy correctly, including any agency determinations that certain foreign articles will be treated as domestic. The agency must also ensure procurement personnel understand the changing domestic-content thresholds and the special treatment for COTS and iron-and-steel items.
Practical Implications
This clause is often decided at the sourcing stage, not after award. Contractors should map component origin early, because a late supplier change can turn a domestic end product into a foreign one.
The delivery-date-based thresholds can create compliance risk on long lead-time contracts. A product that qualifies under one year’s threshold may fail under a later delivery year’s higher threshold.
Unknown origin is not neutral; it is treated as foreign. Contractors need traceable supply-chain documentation for components, especially for complex assemblies and multi-tier sourcing.
COTS status can help, but it is not a blanket exemption. Teams should still check whether the item is wholly or predominantly iron or steel and whether the special iron-and-steel rule applies.
The Buy American Certificate and the clause must match the actual supply plan. Misstating foreign end products or failing to update the government about changes can create performance, payment, and potential compliance problems.
Official Regulatory Text
As prescribed in 25.1101 (a)(1) , insert the following clause: Buy American-Supplies (Oct 2022) (a) Definitions . As used in this clause— Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item — (1) Means any item of supply (including construction material) that is– (i) A commercial product (as defined in paragraph (1) of the definition of “commercial product” at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101 ); (ii) Sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace; and (iii) Offered to the Government, under a contract or subcontract at any tier, without modification, in the same form in which it is sold in the commercial marketplace; and (2) Does not include bulk cargo, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 40102(4) , such as agricultural products and petroleum products. Component means an article, material, or supply incorporated directly into an end product. Cost of components means— (1) For components purchased by the Contractor, the acquisition cost, including transportation costs to the place of incorporation into the end product (whether or not such costs are paid to a domestic firm), and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free entry certificate is issued); or (2) For components manufactured by the Contractor, all costs associated with the manufacture of the component, including transportation costs as described in paragraph (1) of this definition, plus allocable overhead costs, but excluding profit. Cost of components does not include any costs associated with the manufacture of the end product. Critical component means a component that is mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States and deemed critical to the U.S. supply chain. The list of critical components is at FAR 25.105 . Domestic end product means— (1) For an end product that does not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both- (i) An unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the United States; (ii) An end product manufactured in the United States, if- (A) The cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 60 percent of the cost of all its components, except that the percentage will be 65 percent for items delivered in calendar years 2024 through 2028 and 75 percent for items delivered starting in calendar year 2029. Components of foreign origin of the same class or kind as those that the agency determines are not mined, produced, or manufactured in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality are treated as domestic. Components of unknown origin are treated as foreign. Scrap generated, collected, and prepared for processing in the United States is considered domestic; or (B) The end product is a COTS item; or (2) For an end product that consists wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, an end product manufactured in the United States, if the cost of foreign iron and steel constitutes less than 5 percent of the cost of all the components used in the end product. The cost of foreign iron and steel includes but is not limited to the cost of foreign iron or steel mill products (such as bar, billet, slab, wire, plate, or sheet), castings, or forgings utilized in the manufacture of the end product and a good faith estimate of the cost of all foreign iron or steel components excluding COTS fasteners. Iron or steel components of unknown origin are treated as foreign. If the end product contains multiple components, the cost of all the materials used in such end product is calculated in accordance with the definition of "cost of components". End product means those articles, materials, and supplies to be acquired under the contract for public use. Fastener means a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. Examples of fasteners are nuts, bolts, pins, rivets, nails, clips, and screws. Foreign end product means an end product other than a domestic end product. Foreign iron and steel means iron or steel products not produced in the United States. Produced in the United States means that all manufacturing processes of the iron or steel must take place in the United States, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, except metallurgical processes involving refinement of steel additives. The origin of the elements of the iron or steel is not relevant to the determination of whether it is domestic or foreign. Predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both means that the cost of the iron and steel content exceeds 50 percent of the total cost of all its components. The cost of iron and steel is the cost of the iron or steel mill products (such as bar, billet, slab, wire, plate, or sheet), castings, or forgings utilized in the manufacture of the product and a good faith estimate of the cost of iron or steel components excluding COTS fasteners. Steel means an alloy that includes at least 50 percent iron, between 0.02 and 2 percent carbon, and may include other elements. United States means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and outlying areas. (b) 41 U.S.C. chapter 83 , Buy American, provides a preference for domestic end products for supplies acquired for use in the United States. In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1907 , the domestic content test of the Buy American statute is waived for an end product that is a COTS item (see 12.505 (a)(1)), except that for an end product that consists wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, the domestic content test is applied only to the iron and steel content of the end product, excluding COTS fasteners. (c) Offerors may obtain from the Contracting Officer a list of foreign articles that the Contracting Officer will treat as domestic for this contract. (d) The Contractor shall deliver only domestic end products except to the extent that it specified delivery of foreign end products in the provision of the solicitation entitled "Buy American Certificate." (End of clause) Alternate I (Oct 2022) . As prescribed in 25.1101 (a)(1)(ii) substitute the following sentence for the first sentence of paragraph (1)(ii)(A) of the definition of “domestic end product” in paragraph (a): (A) The cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds __ percent of the cost of all its components. [ Contracting officer to insert the percentage. ]