In a move to strengthen what he calls a “Buy American” campaign, President Trump has signed an executive order requiring that products be purchased in the U.S. for federally-supported infrastructure projects.
More than two dozen federal agencies yearly hand out in excess of $700 billion in funding for such projects.
In a statement, Peter Navarro, an adviser to the President, said the idea behind the Strengthening Buy-American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects order is to promote U.S. manufacturing jobs.
Navarro added that the order is specific to cases where “the Department of Transportation spends money directly on the construction of a road or a bridge or some other piece of infrastructure.”
The White House aide additionally noted that a recent review showed that such rules in 2016 were not applied in 200 out of some 265 federally-funded projects, a loss to U.S. manufacturers of around $45 million.
The order specifically states that “all manufacturing processes, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings” for iron and steel products, must take place inside the U.S.
The administration move is an extension of an earlier executive order issued by the President in April of 2017.
By Garry Boulard
