U.S.-made footwear provision now the law

Courtesy / Office of U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin of Maine catches a behind the scenes glimpse at a New Balance manufacturing facility during a visit earlier this year.

Write a Comment

President Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which ushers into law a provision that requires the Department of Defense to provide American-made athletic footwear to new recruits upon their arrival at basic training.

The provision, which is known as the Berry Amendment, will be implemented over the course of the next two years and is seen as an opportunity for New Balance’s three factories in Maine to make those shoes.

First passed in 1941, the Berry Amendment requires the U.S. military to provide its personnel with American-made equipment and uniforms to the greatest extent possible. Despite this longstanding law and the fact that it issues similar Berry-compliant items such as combat boots and service uniforms, the DoD has not previously issued new recruits athletic footwear that is compliant with that amendment.

Maine’s U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin key roles in getting the American-made athletic shoe provision into the defense authorization act, pushing for Buy American amendments earlier this year and making sure the requirement was included in the final markup of the defense bill.

“This is a momentous victory that the hardworking men and women of New Balance have long deserved,” King said in a statement announcing the president’s signing of the $619 billion military budget. “For far too long, the Department of Defense had failed to apply the Berry Amendment to athletic footwear for new recruits, but New Balance’s employees remained undeterred, manufacturing the highest-quality athletic shoes here in Maine day-in and day-out. Today, their efforts have paid off and New Balance will be able to compete for future contracts to provide athletic footwear to recruits.”