Buy American Act
Established a broad federal purchasing preference for American-made products.
Request a product review ↗The Berry Amendment: history, purpose, and documentation.
A practical buyer’s introduction to the domestic-source restriction that has shaped Department of Defense textile procurement for more than eight decades.
Important: This page is educational, not legal advice or a product certification. Applicability depends on the solicitation, agency, product, components, production history, exceptions, and current regulations.
01 / ORIGIN
Born from defense readiness.
The restriction began in 1941 as a wartime preference for domestically produced food and clothing. Its enduring purpose is to preserve production capacity the United States may need during mobilization and prevent critical defense supply chains from depending entirely on foreign sources.
The name carries a useful historical nuance: the 1941 restriction predates Representative Ellis Yarnal Berry’s service in Congress. Berry entered the House in 1951 and sponsored the 1952 language that strengthened coverage of cotton, wool, raw fiber, and successive production stages.
Wartime domestic preference
Congress restricted defense purchases of foreign food and clothing as the United States prepared for World War II.
Representative Berry’s expansion
Ellis Y. Berry sponsored language reaching cotton, wool, raw fibers, and successive textile manufacturing stages.
Synthetic textiles added
Synthetic and coated synthetic fabrics joined the protected domestic textile categories.
Broader textile coverage
Congress added tents, tarpaulins, covers, canvas products, and textile-based individual equipment.
Permanent codification
The annually renewed restriction became permanent law through the FY2002 National Defense Authorization Act.
Current Title 10 location
The principal statute was recodified at 10 U.S.C. §4862.
02 / PRODUCTION CHAIN
Domestic means more than final assembly.
For covered textiles and apparel, domestic-source analysis can extend from the originating material through every successive manufacturing stage.
01Raw fiber
02Yarn
03Fabric
04Dye & finish
05Components
06Final assembly
Broad federal preference
Uses a different domestic-content framework and generally applies across federal agencies.
DoD-specific restriction
Can require the complete domestic production chain for covered textiles, clothing, and other designated items.
Consumer-origin claim
Governed primarily by Federal Trade Commission standards rather than defense procurement rules.
03 / CURRENT FRAMEWORK
Coverage and exceptions.
Covered categories include
- Clothing and normal clothing components
- Cotton, wool, silk, synthetic fabrics, fibers, and yarns
- Tents, tarpaulins, covers, and canvas products
- Certain textile-based individual equipment
- Food, hand or measuring tools, and American flags
Exceptions may include
- Acquisitions at or below the current regulatory threshold
- Approved domestic nonavailability determinations
- Certain emergency, contingency, overseas, and vessel purchases
- Commissary resale and other narrowly defined circumstances
As of the July 2026 review, DFARS 225.7002-2 lists a general threshold of $200,000, subject to special rules and future changes. Always confirm the current regulation and solicitation.
04 / BUYER REVIEW
Build the evidence package.
01Identify the exact solicitation clause
02Map every material and manufacturing stage
03Collect product, supplier, and origin records
04Resolve gaps, exceptions, and conflicting statements
05Approve claims for the defined product revision
AVOID
“Berry certified,” “Berry approved,” or blanket guarantees that every product satisfies every procurement.
USE PRECISELY
“Domestic-source documentation available for qualifying products” and “Contract-specific compliance subject to review.”
Read the governing sources.
PRODUCT-SPECIFIC REVIEW
Start an RFQ ↗Bring us the requirement.
Share the solicitation language, product, quantity, timeline, and documentation needs. We’ll organize the available evidence and identify what requires further review.