When transportation programs receive federal funding, there are typically domestic preference conditions, or “Buy America” requirements, associated with the use of those funds. The Buy America provision associated with Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant funds is one of the longest-standing federal transportation Buy America provisions and is probably the subject of more documentation than all the others. The Buy America requirements applicable to FTA-assisted procurements have long provided that all steel, iron, and manufactured products be produced in the United States, except where FTA has issued a waiver of the requirements.

TCRP Legal Research Digest 63: Guide to Buy America Requirements for Transit Agencies—2025 Supplement, produced by TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program, provides a comprehensive, updated summary of Buy America requirements applicable to FTA-assisted procurements. It incorporates changes since the publication of TCRP Legal Research Digest 49: Updated Guide to Buy America Requirements—2015 Supplement, including the 2021 Build America, Buy America provision, which expanded Buy America requirements for federally assisted infrastructure projects to include construction materials beyond steel and iron. It also addresses subsequent FTA guidance, decisions and waivers, relevant court cases, and legal disputes identified through outreach to FTA grant recipients.