Southwire Champions Domestic Electrical Manufacturing with NEMA Make It American Program

March 5, 2025 - The U.S. electroindustry is the backbone of our nation’s energy system that fuels one of the largest manufacturing sectors in our country. Over the past four years, NEMA members have invested billions into domestic manufacturing—creating thousands of high-paying jobs and contributing to the electrification of our aging infrastructure—as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act.

BABA sets stringent domestic content requirements for iron and steel products, manufactured products and construction materials in all infrastructure projects receiving federal funding. 

Navigating these evolving regulations has been a complex challenge, which is why NEMA is leading the development of its MiA Program, designed to support the industry in assessing, meeting and offering to the market products that comply with BABA domestic content requirements. By spearheading this initiative for the private sector, NEMA is driving the development of a structured program that will enhance government efficiency and provide business certainty, ultimately facilitating further domestic investment and manufacturing.

Building on the process standard (NEMA 70901-2024), NEMA published the first two product specifications in January 2025 to establish product category-level specificity for Wire & Cable and Low Voltage Distribution Equipment. The new specifications outline the evaluation criteria to help manufacturers confidently make informed decisions that strengthen critical product supply chains in alignment with BABA requirements.
 

Southwire: Leading the charge for domestic manufacturing

Southwire, one of the largest wire and cable manufacturers in North America, has been a strong advocate for the MiA Program, and helped drive the creation of product specifications for wire and cable. They credit the program with promoting and protecting U.S. manufacturing. “We’ve seen a 100% increase in requests for BABA-compliant products,” said Jeff Williams, director of Trade and Third Party Compliance at Southwire. “These infrastructure projects are ramping up, and having a clear, standardized approach makes all the difference.”

“Southwire’s long-term vision will take our 75-year legacy and make it the most sustainable U.S.-based manufacturing company for the next 100 years,” said Yuhsin Hawig, Ph.D. vice president of Applications Engineering at Southwire.

“We have doubled down on modernization investment to support the electrified economy. Vertical integrations and capacity expansions at existing plants and new facilities will boost the quality of the supply chain, which the MiA program will help protect.”
 

What’s next: MiA Certification Services

NEMA’s MiA Program is set to expand in Q2 2025 with the launch of MiA Certification Services. This program will leverage the process standard and product specifications to offer two levels of certification:

• Company certification: Companies that certify their supply chain evaluation process to the NEMA 70901-2024 standard will earn the NEMA-licensed “NEMA Domestic Content” mark for their company and/or facility.
• Product certification: Products evaluated under both the process standard and product specifications will qualify for the “NEMA Domestic Content” mark at the product level, signaling compliance with BABA requirements.