In section 165 of the Surface Transporation Assistance Act of 1982, Congress required that all steel, cement, and manufactured products used in a project funded with money made available from the Federal-aid highway program must be manufuctured in the United States.[437] Subsequently, Congress amended this provision to include iron products and to remove cement products from its application.[438] In enacting section 165, Congress sought to address the U.S. trade deficit and unemployment, and to ensure that revenues generated by the Federal gasoline tax will be spent on American products.[439] In interpreting this provision, the FHWA has stated that the manufacturing of a product begins with the initial melting and mixing, and continues through the coating stage. Any process which modifies the chemical content, the physical size or shape, or the final finish is considered a manufacturing process. These processes include rolling, extruding, machining, bending, grinding, drilling, and coating. An exception to the Buy America requirements may be made when the purchase of such materials would cost 25 percent more than foreign alternatives; if the cost of such materials does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the total contract cost or $2,500, whichever is greater; or if the FHWA grants a waiver.[440]
The Buy America requirement can impede the formation of public-private partnerships because of the additional costs that may be added to a project. For example, the San Francisco Bay Bridge project received approval in 2002 for $237 million of Federal-aid highway funds. [441] However, the Buy America requirements would add $120 million to the cost of the project-almost half the amount of the Federal funding for the project.[442]