Buying American: Protecting U.S. Manufacturing Through the Berry and Kissell Amendments
Abstract
The Berry and Kissell Amendments are two separate but closely related laws requiring that certain goods purchased by national security agencies be produced in the United States. The Berry Amendment (10 U.S.C. 2533a) is the popular name for a law requiring textiles, clothing, food, and hand or measuring tools purchased by the Department of Defense (DOD) to be grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced wholly in the United States. Congress over the decades has varied the list of products covered by the law. Under the Kissell Amendment (6 U.S.C. 453b), textile, apparel, and footwear products purchased by certain Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agenciesnamely, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guardmust be manufactured in the United States with 100% U.S. inputs. The Berry and Kissell Amendments have created niche markets for domestic producers. DODs Defense Logistics Agency purchased about $2.4 billion of Berry-applicable products in FY2016. DODs annual Berry Act purchases equal approximately 2% of domestic textile and apparel shipments and around 1% of domestic production of footwear, food, and hand or measuring tools. Annual purchases of textiles, clothing, and shoes by the TSA and the Coast Guard pursuant to the Kissell Amendment are approximately $30 million. Proponents of the Berry and Kissell Amendments assert the laws serve to keep certain U.S. production lines operating, provide jobs to American factory workers, and shield the U.S. military from dependence on foreign sources for critical items that could lead to supply problems during times of war or military mobilization. Critics of the amendments point out the laws may undercut free-market competition and can result in higher costs to DOD and DHS because they must pay more for protected products than the free market requires.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 18, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1169872
Entities
People
- Michaela D. Platzer
Organizations
- Library of Congress