Buy America stencils at Novato Downtown station, December 2019

Section 165 () of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (commonly called the Buy America Act) is a section of the larger STAA that deals with purchases related to rail or road transportation. Unlike the similarly titled

Buy American Act The Buy American Act ("BAA", originally , now ) passed in 1933 by Congress and signed by President Hoover on his last full day in office (March 3, 1933), required the United States government to prefer U.S.-made products in its purchases. Other ...

(1933), the Buy America Act applies only to purchases related to rail or road transportation, such as the construction of highways, railways, or rapid transit systems. The 1982 provisions also apply to purchases made by third-party agencies, using funds granted by agencies within the United States Department of Transportation. Transportation infrastructure projects built with iron, steel, and manufactured products must purchase materials in the United States. This applies to mass-transit related procurements valued over $150,000 and funded at least in part by federal grants. This includes highways, bridges, airports and tunnels. Canadian manufacturers, as joint signatories to

NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...

and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

Agreement on Government Procurement The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a plurilateral agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which regulates the procurement of goods and services by the public authorities of the parties to the agreement, b ...

(GPA), are often eligible to be considered equivalent to US manufacturers, though

excluded highway and transit grants from its coverage, and while the GPA agreement obliges the governments of 37 US states to treat Canadian products as equivalent to US products, the GPA also excludes highway and transit grants that are Federally funded. The Buy America rules are occasionally amended by the

Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administratio ...

and the

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. According to the Associated General Contractors of Washington, elements of the

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

conflicted with the Buy America provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, although the legislation specified that the existing Buy America requirements would extend to ARRA-funded highway and transit projects.

References

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External links

Effects of Buy America on Transportation Infrastructure and U.S. Manufacturing: Policy Options

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

1982 in law United States federal commerce legislation United States federal transportation legislation Protectionism in the United States Government procurement in the United States