The law provides that state purchasing agencies that buy manufactured articles, materials, and supplies shall promote the purchase of, and give preference to, manufactured articles, materials and supplies that have been manufactured in America.
"This law takes an important step toward ensuring that America does not continue to lose valuable manufacturing revenue to other countries when the same products are available in the United States at a reasonable price. Everybody takes pride and profits when buying American," said Blagojevich.
Exemptions to the provisions of HB 6983 are the following:
- Items manufactured in the U.S. do not exist in reasonably available quantities.
- The price of the items manufactured in the U.S. exceeds by an unreasonable amount the price of available and similar items manufactured outside the U.S.
- The quality of the items manufactured in the U.S. is substantially less than the quality of non-U.S. manufactured items that are similar, available, and comparably priced.
- The purchase of U.S. manufactured items is not in the public interest.
- Items procured in conjunction with contracts for telecommunications services or Internet or information services.
- The purchase of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, certain medical devices, and similar specified items.
