Table of Contents I
List of Abbreviations VI
List of Figures IX
List of Tables X
Explanations XI


Foreword 1

A. United States – a Short Profile 3
I. Governmental System 3
1. Separation of Powers 3
2. Legislative Procedure 4
II. Political Activities 5
III. International Relations 7

B. The United States Economy 9
I. Economic Growth 9
II. Aggregate Demand of the Gross Domestic Product 10
1. Personal Consumption 11
2. Private Investments 13
3. Government Expenditures 14
4. Trade Balance in Goods and Services 15
III. Balance of Payment 17
IV. Summary of the U.S. Economy 19
V. Protectionism – Adhering to the Buy America Act 20
1. Trade Barriers 20
2. Ricardo’s Comparative Advantage 22
3. Adhering to the Buy America Act 24

C. The Buy America Act in Theory 27
I. Introduction 27
II. History 27
1. Development of the Buy America Act 27
1.1 Developments in the 18th and 19th Century 27
1.2 The Buy American Act of 1933 29
1.3 The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 29
2. Enactment of the Buy America Act 30
3. The Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 31
4. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 31

III. The applicable Buy America Act 31
1. Applicability 31
2. Buy America Requirements 32
2.1 General Requirements 32
2.2 Special Requirements of Rolling Stock 33
2.2.1 Raw Materials 35
2.2.2 Subcomponents 36
2.2.3 Components 37
2.2.4 End Product 40
2.2.5 Requirements for Final Assembly 41
2.2.6 Tariff Exemption 42
2.2.7 Summary 43
3. Waivers 46
3.1 Statutory Waivers 46
3.1.1 Waiver in Public Interest 46
3.1.2 Waiver in Non-Availability 47
3.1.3 Waiver in Price-Differential 48
3.1.4 Waiver in Procurements of Rolling Stock 48
3.2 General Waivers 48
3.2.1 General Waiver published in 48 C.F.R. 25.104 49
3.2.2 General Waiver in Microprocessors 49
3.2.3 General Waiver in Microcomputer Equipment 50
3.2.4 General Waiver in Small Purchases 50
3.3 Special Waivers in Rolling Stock 51
3.3.1 Waiver according to § 661.7(f) 51
3.3.2 General Waiver in Spare Parts 51
3.4 Obtaining a Waiver 51
4. Audits 52
4.1 Pre-Award Audits 53
4.2 Post-Delivery Audits 54
5. Non-Compliance with Buy America 55
5.1 Non-Compliance with the Local Content 55
5.2 Inadvertent and Logical Failures 55
5.3 Non-Compliance on Purpose 56
6. Bidder’s Legal Protection 57
7. Third Party Rights 57
8. Summary 58
IV. Applicability of International Agreements 59
1. The NAFTA Agreement 59
2. The WTO Agreement 60

D. Presentation of Siemens 62
I. Siemens AG 62
II. Siemens Transportation Systems, Inc. 62

E. Siemens Transportation Systems, Inc.: The Buy America Act in Practice 63
I. Article in Bids and Contracts 63
II. Buy America Special Requirements of Rolling Stock 63
1. As-is Analysis 63
1.1 End Product 63
1.2 Components 63
1.3 Subcomponents 63
1.4 Raw Materials 63
1.5 Final Assembly 63
1.6 Tariff Exemption 63
2. Evaluation 63
III. Use of Waivers 64
1. As-is Analysis 64
1.1 Statutory Waivers 64
1.1.1 Waiver in Public Interest 64
1.1.2 Waiver in Non-Availability 64
1.1.2 Waiver in Price-Differential 64
1.2 General Waivers 64
1.2.1 General Waiver published in 48 C.F.R. 25.104 64
1.2.2 General Waiver in Microprocessors 64
1.2.3 General Waiver in Microprocessor Equipment 64
1.2.4 General Waiver in Small Purchases 65
1.2.5 General Waiver in Spare Parts 65
2. Evaluation 65
IV. Pre-Award Audits and Post-Delivery Audits 65
V. Siemens AG as Subcontractor 65
VI. Recommended Approach 65

F. New Aspects of Buy America 66

G. Conclusion 67

H. Bibliography 68


Addendum 77
Addendum 1: The Buy America Act and its changes under SAFETEA-LU 77
Addendum 2: Legislative Procedure 96
Addendum 3: General Requirements – Compliance with Section 165(a) 97
Addendum 4: Rolling Stock – Compliance with Section 165(b)(3) 98
Addendum 5: General Requirements – Non-Compliance with Section 165(a) 99
Addendum 6: Rolling Stock – Non-Compliance with Section 165(b)(3) 100
Addendum 7: Pre-Award Buy America Compliance Certification 101
Addendum 8: Pre-Award Buy America Exemption Certification 102
Addendum 9: Pre-Award Purchaser’s Requirements Certification 103
Addendum 10: Post-Delivery Buy America Compliance Certification 104
Addendum 11: Post-Delivery Buy America Exemption Certification 105
Addendum 12: Post-Delivery Purchaser’s Requirements Certification 106
Addendum 13: Cost Summary of Buy America Requirements 107
Addendum 14: Calculation of the Component […] 108
Addendum 15: Offer of […] 109