The Buy American Act was a piece of U.S. legislation passed in 1933 that mandates preference for the purchase of domestically produced goods over foreign goods in U.S. government procurement. The president has the authority to waive the Buy American Act within the terms of a reciprocal agreement or otherwise in response to the provision of reciprocal treatment to U.S. producers. Under the 1979 GATT Government Procurement Code, the U.S.-Israel FTA, the U.S.-Canada FTA, and the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, the United States provides access to the government procurement of certain U.S. agencies for goods from the other parties to those agreements. Other "buy-national" legislative provisions exist separately from the Buy American Act requirements.

Source

• http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/trade/glossac.htm