Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation, Make Personal Protective Equipment in America Act Restrictions on Foreign Acquisition (HSAR Case 2024-003)
Key claim: DHS will require that certain personal protective equipment it buys be made in the United States, limiting foreign-sourced PPE on Homeland Security contracts.
Abstract
(Rule · Homeland Security Department) DHS is issuing a final rule to amend the Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) codifying how DHS complies with the requirements of the Make Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in America Act. These changes are intended to ensure the sustainment and expansion of domestic manufacturing for certain types of PPE critical to the United States’ national response to a public health crisis.
Why this matters
Domestic-sourcing mandates on federal PPE purchases shift demand toward U.S. manufacturers and away from foreign suppliers (notably China and Southeast Asia, which dominated pandemic-era PPE imports), affecting both exporter access to the DHS market and the unit cost DHS pays. Codifying the statute in HSAR makes the restriction operationally binding on contracting officers rather than aspirational, and signals continued post-COVID reshoring of medical supply chains through procurement policy.