If your project requires a Buy America waiver, check your grant agreement. It should refer you to the Federal funding agency’s waiver procedures. If it does not, search the internet using the funding agency’s name and “Buy America waiver”.
Waivers requests are required to certify a good faith effort was made to solicit bids for domestic products. A strong paper trail is required to prove this. It can be helpful to research waiver request requirements well in advance of starting any purchasing as the research should identify what proof is needed.
Only the grant recipient can submit a waiver request to the Federal funding agency. If subrecipients or subcontractors need a waiver, they must submit a waiver request to the grant recipient.