The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) formed a partnership to encourage the creation of domestic manufacturing jobs and opportunities for U.S. Suppliers through transportation investments.
DOT is responsible for compliance with "Buy America" or "Buy American" requirements to ensure that certain transportation projects are built with U.S. made products. NIST MEP will help to ensure manufacturers meet the U.S. DOT’s "Buy America" and "Buy American” standards connecting U.S. manufacturers and suppliers with large Original Equipment Manufacturers and Transit Vehicle Manufacturers.
With a network in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, MEP serves more than 34,000 American suppliers, helping them to retool their manufacturing capabilities to meet demand, compete in the global marketplace and sell American-made products all over the world.
MEP leverages over 1,300 expert manufacturing assistance field staff in over 350 locations to provide knowledge of local manufacturing capabilities from across the nation and provide outreach to and development of a domestic supply base for public transit in the United States. MEP will identify suppliers' production and technical capabilities to match them up with viable business opportunities that may have otherwise gone to foreign suppliers, ensuring maximum economic benefit for taxpayer-funded transportation investments across all modes of transportation.