WASHINGTON: In this file photo US President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 response before signing executive orders for economic relief to COVID-hit families and businesses in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.-AFP

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden signed an executive order yesterday giving priority to US companies and products in contracts with the federal government, pushing a "Made in America" approach favored by predecessor Donald Trump. The order, senior White House officials said, aims to boost national production and save industrial jobs by increasing investments in manufacturing industries and workers in order to "Build Back Better."

Less than a week after his inauguration, Biden is pushing his priorities through with executive orders, even though his Cabinet is not fully in place, with the roles such as Secretary of State still to be approved. The new executive order should reduce the possibility of skirting rules requiring federal authorities to prioritize buying US-made products. Biden wants to limit the way federal agencies stamp the products they buy as "Made in America" in order to eliminate legal loopholes used by companies that often manufacture in the US only a small portion of the products offered to the government.

Avoiding a trade war

Biden's decision echoes those of his predecessors, particularly Trump. Trump had issued an executive order urging the federal government to purchase more US-made products and turning tariffs into a weapon against imports-with mixed results. But instead of a trade war, Biden favors tightening the "Buy American" rules and wants to utilize the federal government's buying power. "The dollars the federal government spends... are a powerful tool to support American workers and manufacturers. Contracting alone accounts for nearly $600 billion in federal spending," an administration official said.

The Buy American Act of 1933, still in force, requires federal agencies to prioritize buying goods produced on US soil, but "these preferences have not always been implemented consistently or effectively," according to the Biden administration. Biden's approach seeks to change the structure of the process by changing the definition of what is considered a US-made product and reducing the possibilities for exemptions. The administration also wants new companies, including small ones, to have access to tenders.

Strengthening the supply chain

During his presidential campaign, Biden promised to strengthen the "Buy American" process with a $400 billion plan for projects using US-made products-including steel, or protective equipment for healthcare workers battling COVID-19. After his electoral victory, Biden said the federal government would buy American cars and inventory. However, companies have already warned that overly restrictive rules could cause costs to soar, making it harder to buy parts made outside the US.

President Joe Biden will re-impose a COVID-19 travel ban on most non-US citizens who have been in Britain, Brazil, Ireland and much of Europe, a White House official said Sunday, as the new administration ramps up its pandemic response. Biden will also extend the ban to travelers who have recently been to South Africa amid warnings that new, more transmissible coronavirus variants are already establishing themselves in the United States, the official said, confirming US media reports.

The new president last week tightened mask wearing rules and ordered quarantine for people flying into the United States, as he seeks to tackle the country's worsening coronavirus crisis. Biden has said that the COVID-19 death toll would likely rise from 420,000 to half a million next month-and that drastic action was needed. "We're in a national emergency. It's time we treated it like one," he said on Thursday. In his last days in office, Donald Trump announced that a COVID-19 ban on travelers arriving from much of Europe and Brazil would be lifted-but the Biden administration immediately said it would reverse the order due to come into effect on January 26. -AFP