The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law —a once in a generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure—included a provision known as the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act, with the intent of ensuring American tax dollars are spent supporting America’s workers, communities, and businesses. This policy, commonly referred to as “BABA”, sets stringent domestic content requirements for iron and steel products, manufactured products, and construction materials in all infrastructure projects receiving federal funding.
In the past four years, NEMA members have invested billions into domestic manufacturing—creating thousands of high-paying jobs and contributing to the electrification of our aging infrastructure. However, the complexity of BABA rules has posed challenges
for the electro-industry's supply chains.
To address these challenges, NEMA has developed its “Make It American” Program to help members confidently offer BABA-compliant products to the market. The standard foundation of this program is the recently published NEMA 70901-2024, Compliance with Domestic Preference Requirements for Infrastructure Projects, and the newly established the BABA Information and Legal Resource Center.
Soon to follow will be the BABA-related product specifications, and a 3rd-party certification program.
NEMA's BABA Process Standard
NEMA’s Make It American BABA Product Specifications
NEMA’s two industry-leading product specifications are designed to help electrical manufacturers confidently offer BABA-compliant products to market. Building on NEMA’s process standard (NEMA 70901-2024), the product specifications establish
product category-level specificity and outline the evaluation criteria to confidently make informed decisions that strengthen critical product supply chains in alignment with BABA requirements.
NEMA Make It American™ Certification Program – Coming Soon!
NEMA’s Make It American™ will offer a comprehensive certification and licensing program to support conformance with Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements. Under this program, companies can achieve:
- Certification to the NEMA Process Standard (NEMA 70901-2024):
This will certify a company’s supply chain evaluation and assurance process through a third-party audit conducted by a NEMA-approved Audit Service Provider. Successful certification grants the right to use the
“NEMA Domestic Content”
mark at the company or facility level.
- Licensing to the BABA Product Specifications:
In conjunction with the process audit, companies may license the “NEMA BABA Product” Mark(s) for qualifying products and packaging. This mark indicates that a product meets the detailed BABA requirements outlined by the
NEMA BABA Product Specifications, currently for Low Voltage Distribution Equipment (NEMA 70901-1-2024) and Wire and Cable (NEMA 70901-2-2024).
Together, these certifications will help demonstrate your company’s commitment to domestic content standards and streamline federal compliance efforts.
Ready to Get Started?
Explore our program materials and take the next step:
BABA On-Demand Legal Resource Center
To help NEMA member companies navigate the complexities of BABA requirements and confidently bring BABA-compliant products to market, NEMA has partnered with three distinguished law firms with deep expertise in BABA- and NEMA-related
matters. This exclusive members-only benefit provides direct access to three premiere firms – King & Spalding; Miller & Chevalier; and Schulz Trade Law PLLC – providing members with quick
and easy access to expert guidance on navigating the BABA rules.
NEMA BABA Resources
The following materials are NEMA-developed resources and other information to help companies better understand, navigate and benefit from the BABA provisions. This page will be kept up to date as the policy develops.
NEMA BABA Resources
NEMA BABA Advocacy Documents
External BABA Resources
The following links include FAQs and additional information on federal agency Buy America provisions:
Build America, Buy America Working Group
In addition to providing resources to NEMA member companies, NEMA has an established working group to steer the electroindustry’s advocacy on BABA policy. Contact Alexa.Burr@nema.org to join the working group or for more information.
Additional Information
Supplementary programs and resources are being developed to assist with navigating the requirements. Please contact Alexa.Burr@nema.org for more information on NEMA’s ongoing efforts.