abstract:The Berry Amendment (USC, Title 10, Section 2533a), requires the Department of Defense to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home-grown products, most notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. Congress originally passed domestic source restrictions as part of the 1941 Fifth Supplemental DOD Appropriations Act in order to protect the domestic industrial base in the time of war.
The federal government has gone even further and exempted EADS from the Buy American Act, the BerryAmendment, the International Trafficking and Arms Regulations, and the Cost Accounting Standards.
Then, in May, the Pentagon's Defence Contract Management Agency announced an inquiry into allegations that the company was violating the (aptly-named) Berryamendment, which has prohibited the use of foreign materials in products bought by the Department of Defence for more than 50 years.