Under the original Buy America Program, all permanently incorporated steel products used in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) construction projects had to be domestically manufactured.
On December 21, 2012, the FHWA issued a memorandum exempting certain steel products used in FHWA construction projects from Buy America requirements. This exemption covered many of the products made in America by Buy American Steel Products Association members.
A group of companies, a trade association and a union challenged the FHWA exemption in court. On December 20, 2015, the federal district court in Washington, DC, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs making these steel products once again subject to Buy America