It's time to invest in 3M Transportation Safety products aligned with BABAA

Background
The Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) is a provision within the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into US federal law in 2021. BABAA places limits on sourcing products made outside of the United States including those used for federally funded infrastructure projects.

In January 2025, the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) published a notice terminating its long-standing general waivers for federal-aid highway construction projects.¹ These waivers allowed for some outsourcing outside the United States for manufactured products.

BABAA took full effect later this year on October 1, 2025. Now all manufactured products for US federal highway projects must be assembled in the United States, meaning at least 55% of the cost of components required to be mined, produced or manufactured in the US.

What this means
Now manufacturers must self-certify to prime contractors or funding recipients that their products comply, including that final manufacturing occurred in the US, and by 2026 more than 55% of the cost of components originated in the US.

Good news
3M has you covered for a full range of pavement marking materials – including some of our latest technologies. You can find 3M products that align with BABAA in these portfolios:
 

• 3M™ Stamark™ All Weather Tape Series 380AW
• 3M™ Stamark™ High Performance Tape Series 380IES
• 3M™ Stamark™ Pavement Marking Tape Series 270ES
• 3M™ Stamark™ All Weather Removable Tape Series 710IR Series
• 3M™ Connected Roads All Weather Elements
• 3M™ Raised Pavement Marker PSA-290
• 3M™ Retroreflective Traffic Sign Sheeting

Note: Products within the 3M portfolios listed meet BABAA requirements as of the date of this publication. Please check with your 3M representative for the most up-to-date status*

How Pavement Marking Quality Impacts ADAS and Machine Vision

Highly retroreflective sign sheeting can help reduce crashes

¹U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. Tuesday, January 14, 2025
*This article is not a valid legal representation of origin for government contract purposes. The Country-of-Origin determination for a 3M product is only valid with a current written certification from the 3M Trade Compliance Department. The information here is accurate to 3M’s knowledge and belief, which may be based on information provided by third party suppliers to 3M.