Section 1605 of the Recovery Act prohibits use of recovery funds for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States. The law requires that this prohibition be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements, and it provides for waiver under three circumstances:

(a) Iron, steel, or relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality;

(b) Inclusion of iron, steel, or manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent; or

(c) Applying the domestic preference would be inconsistent with the public interest.

Except as provided in § 176.80 or § 176.90—

(a) None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by the Recovery Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work (see definitions at §§ 176.140 and 176.160) unless—

(1) The public building or public work is located in the United States; and

(2) All of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced or manufactured in the United States.

(i) Production in the United States of the iron or steel used in the project requires that all manufacturing processes must take place in the United States, except metallurgical processes involving refinement of steel additives. These requirements do not apply to iron or steel used as components or subcomponents of manufactured goods used in the project.

(ii) There is no requirement with regard to the origin of components or subcomponents in manufactured goods used in the project, as long as the manufacturing occurs in the United States.

(b) Paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply where the Recovery Act requires the application of alternative Buy American requirements for iron, steel, and manufactured goods.

(a) When one of the following exceptions applies in a case or category of cases, the award official may allow the recipient to use foreign iron, steel and/or manufactured goods in the project without regard to the restrictions of section 1605 of the Recovery Act:

(1) Nonavailability. The head of the Federal department or agency may determine that the iron, steel or relevant manufactured good is not produced or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality. The determinations of nonavailability of the articles listed at 48 CFR 25.104(a) and the procedures at 48 CFR 25.103(b)(1) also apply if any of those articles are manufactured goods needed in the project.

(2) Unreasonable cost. The head of the Federal department or agency may determine that the cost of domestic iron, steel, or relevant manufactured goods will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent in accordance with § 176.110.

(3) Inconsistent with public interest. The head of the Federal department or agency may determine that application of the restrictions of section 1605 of the Recovery Act would be inconsistent with the public interest.

(b) When a determination is made for any of the reasons stated in this section that certain foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods may be used—

(1) The award official shall list the excepted materials in the award; and

(2) The head of the Federal department or agency shall publish a notice in the Federal Register within two weeks after the determination is made, unless the item has already been determined to be domestically nonavailable. A list of items that are not domestically available is at 48 CFR 25.104(a). The Federal Register notice or information from the notice may be posted by OMB to Recovery.gov. The notice shall include—

(i) The title “Buy American Exception under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”;

(ii) The dollar value and brief description of the project; and

(iii) A detailed written justification as to why the restriction is being waived.

Section 1605(d) of the Recovery Act provides that the Buy American requirement in section 1605 shall be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

(a) The Buy American requirement set out in § 176.70 shall not be applied where the iron, steel, or manufactured goods used in the project are from a Party to an international agreement, listed in paragraph (b) of this section, and the recipient is required under an international agreement, described in the appendix to this subpart, to treat the goods and services of that Party the same as domestic goods and services. As of January 1, 2010, this obligation shall only apply to projects with an estimated value of $7,804,000 or more and projects that are not specifically excluded from the application of those agreements.

(b) The international agreements that obligate recipients that are covered under an international agreement to treat the goods and services of a Party the same as domestic goods and services and the respective Parties to the agreements are:

(1) The World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom);

(2) The following Free Trade Agreements:

(i) Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua);

(ii) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (Canada and Mexico);

(iii) United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement;

(iv) United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement;

(v) United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement;

(vi) United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement;

(vii) United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement;

(viii) United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement;

(ix) United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement; and

(x) United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.

(3) United States-European Communities Exchange of Letters (May 15, 1995): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom; and

(4) Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on Government Procurement.

(a) The head of the Federal department or agency involved may make a determination regarding inapplicability of section 1605 to a particular case or to a category of cases.

(b) Before Recovery Act funds are awarded by the Federal agency or obligated by the recipient for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work, an applicant or recipient may request from the award official a determination concerning the inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act for specifically identified items.

(c) The time for submitting the request and the information and supporting data that must be included in the request are to be specified in the agency's and recipient's request for applications and/or proposals, and as appropriate, in other written communications. The content of those communications should be consistent with the notice in § 176.150 or § 176.170, whichever applies.

(d) The award official must evaluate all requests based on the information provided and may supplement this information with other readily available information.

(e) In making a determination based on the increased cost to the project of using domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, the award official must compare the total estimated cost of the project using foreign iron, steel and/or relevant manufactured goods to the estimated cost if all domestic iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods were used. If use of domestic iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods would increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent, then the award official shall determine that the cost of the domestic iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods is unreasonable.

(a) If the award official receives a request for an exception based on the cost of certain domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods being unreasonable, in accordance with § 176.80, then the award official shall apply evaluation factors to the proposal to use such foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods as follows:

(1) Use an evaluation factor of 25 percent, applied to the total estimated cost of the project, if the foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods are to be used in the project based on an exception for unreasonable cost requested by the applicant.

(2) Total evaluated cost = project cost estimate + (.25 × project cost estimate, if paragraph (a)(1) of this section applies).

(b) Applicants or recipients also may submit alternate proposals based on use of equivalent domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods to avoid possible denial of Recovery Act funding for the proposal if the Federal Government determines that an exception permitting use of the foreign item(s) does not apply.

(c) If the award official makes an award to an applicant that proposed foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods not listed in the applicable notice in the request for applications or proposals, then the award official must add the excepted materials to the list in the award term.

(a) If a recipient requests a determination regarding the inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act after obligating Recovery Act funds for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair (late request), the recipient must explain why it could not request the determination before making the obligation or why the need for such determination otherwise was not reasonably foreseeable. If the award official concludes that the recipient should have made the request before making the obligation, the award official may deny the request.

(b) The award official must base evaluation of any late request for a determination regarding the inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act on information required by § 176.150(c) and (d) or § 176.170(c) and (d) and/or other readily available information.

(c) If a determination, under § 176.80 is made after Recovery Act funds were obligated for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, the award official must amend the award to allow use of the foreign iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods. When the basis of the exception is nonavailability or public interest, the amended award shall reflect adjustment of the award amount, redistribution of budgeted funds, and/or other appropriate actions taken to cover costs associated with acquiring or using the foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods. When the basis for the exception is the unreasonable cost of domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods the award official shall adjust the award amount or the budget, as appropriate, by at least the differential established in § 176.110(a).

The award official must—

(a) Review allegations of violations of section 1605 of the Recovery Act;

(b) Unless fraud is suspected, notify the recipient of the apparent unauthorized use of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods and request a reply, to include proposed corrective action; and

(c) If the review reveals that a recipient or subrecipient has used foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods without authorization, take appropriate action, including one or more of the following:

(1) Process a determination concerning the inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act in accordance with § 176.120.

(2) Consider requiring the removal and replacement of the unauthorized foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods.

(3) If removal and replacement of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods used in a public building or a public work would be impracticable, cause undue delay, or otherwise be detrimental to the interests of the Federal Government, the award official may determine in writing that the foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods need not be removed and replaced. A determination to retain foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods does not constitute a determination that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, and this should be stated in the determination. Further, a determination to retain foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods does not affect the Federal Government's right to reduce the amount of the award by the cost of the steel, iron, or manufactured goods that are used in the project or to take enforcement or termination action in accordance with the agency's grants management regulations.

(4) If the noncompliance is sufficiently serious, consider exercising appropriate remedies, such as withholding cash payments pending correction of the deficiency, suspending or terminating the award, and withholding further awards for the project. Also consider preparing and forwarding a report to the agency suspending or debarring official in accordance with the agency's debarment rule implementing 2 CFR part 180. If the noncompliance appears to be fraudulent, refer the matter to other appropriate agency officials, such as the officer responsible for criminal investigation.

When awarding Recovery Act funds for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work that does not involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered under international agreements, the agency shall use the award term described in the following paragraphs:

(a) Definitions. As used in this award term and condition—

(1) Manufactured good means a good brought to the construction site for incorporation into the building or work that has been—

(i) Processed into a specific form and shape; or

(ii) Combined with other raw material to create a material that has different properties than the properties of the individual raw materials.

(2) Public building and public work means a public building of, and a public work of, a governmental entity (the United States; the District of Columbia; commonwealths, territories, and minor outlying islands of the United States; State and local governments; and multi-State, regional, or interstate entities which have governmental functions). These buildings and works may include, without limitation, bridges, dams, plants, highways, parkways, streets, subways, tunnels, sewers, mains, power lines, pumping stations, heavy generators, railways, airports, terminals, docks, piers, wharves, ways, lighthouses, buoys, jetties, breakwaters, levees, and canals, and the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of such buildings and works.

(3) Steel means an alloy that includes at least 50 percent iron, between .02 and 2 percent carbon, and may include other elements.

(b) Domestic preference. (1) This award term and condition implements Section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) (Pub. L. 111-5), by requiring that all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States except as provided in paragraph (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this section and condition.

(2) This requirement does not apply to the material listed by the Federal Government as follows:

(3) The award official may add other iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods to the list in paragraph (b)(2) of this section and condition if the Federal Government determines that—

(i) The cost of the domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods would be unreasonable. The cost of domestic iron, steel, or manufactured goods used in the project is unreasonable when the cumulative cost of such material will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25 percent;

(ii) The iron, steel, and/or manufactured good is not produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or

(iii) The application of the restriction of section 1605 of the Recovery Act would be inconsistent with the public interest.

(c) Request for determination of inapplicability of Section 1605 of the Recovery Act. (1)(i) Any recipient request to use foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section shall include adequate information for Federal Government evaluation of the request, including—

(A) A description of the foreign and domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods;

(B) Unit of measure;

(C) Quantity;

(D) Cost;

(E) Time of delivery or availability;

(F) Location of the project;

(G) Name and address of the proposed supplier; and

(H) A detailed justification of the reason for use of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods cited in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this section.

(ii) A request based on unreasonable cost shall include a reasonable survey of the market and a completed cost comparison table in the format in paragraph (d) of this section.

(iii) The cost of iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods material shall include all delivery costs to the construction site and any applicable duty.

(iv) Any recipient request for a determination submitted after Recovery Act funds have been obligated for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair shall explain why the recipient could not reasonably foresee the need for such determination and could not have requested the determination before the funds were obligated. If the recipient does not submit a satisfactory explanation, the award official need not make a determination.

(2) If the Federal Government determines after funds have been obligated for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, the award official will amend the award to allow use of the foreign iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods. When the basis for the exception is nonavailability or public interest, the amended award shall reflect adjustment of the award amount, redistribution of budgeted funds, and/or other actions taken to cover costs associated with acquiring or using the foreign iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods. When the basis for the exception is the unreasonable cost of the domestic iron, steel, or manufactured goods, the award official shall adjust the award amount or redistribute budgeted funds by at least the differential established in 2 CFR 176.110(a).

(3) Unless the Federal Government determines that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, use of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods is noncompliant with section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

(d) Data. To permit evaluation of requests under paragraph (b) of this section based on unreasonable cost, the Recipient shall include the following information and any applicable supporting data based on the survey of suppliers:

When requesting applications or proposals for Recovery Act programs or activities that may involve construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work, and do not involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered under international agreements, the agency shall use the notice described in the following paragraphs in their solicitations:

(a) Definitions. Manufactured good, public building and public work, and steel, as used in this notice, are defined in the 2 CFR 176.140.

(b) Requests for determinations of inapplicability. A prospective applicant requesting a determination regarding the inapplicability of section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) (Recovery Act) should submit the request to the award official in time to allow a determination before submission of applications or proposals. The prospective applicant shall include the information and applicable supporting data required by paragraphs at 2 CFR 176.140(c) and (d) in the request. If an applicant has not requested a determination regarding the inapplicability of 1605 of the Recovery Act before submitting its application or proposal, or has not received a response to a previous request, the applicant shall include the information and supporting data in the application or proposal.

(c) Evaluation of project proposals. If the Federal Government determines that an exception based on unreasonable cost of domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods applies, the Federal Government will evaluate a project requesting exception to the requirements of section 1605 of the Recovery Act by adding to the estimated total cost of the project 25 percent of the project cost, if foreign iron, steel, or manufactured goods are used in the project based on unreasonable cost of comparable manufactured domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods.

(d) Alternate project proposals. (1) When a project proposal includes foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods not listed by the Federal Government at 2 CFR 176.140(b)(2), the applicant also may submit an alternate proposal based on use of equivalent domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods.

(2) If an alternate proposal is submitted, the applicant shall submit a separate cost comparison table prepared in accordance with 2 CFR 176.140(c) and (d) for the proposal that is based on the use of any foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods for which the Federal Government has not yet determined an exception applies.

(3) If the Federal Government determines that a particular exception requested in accordance with 2 CFR 176.140(b) does not apply, the Federal Government will evaluate only those proposals based on use of the equivalent domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, and the applicant shall be required to furnish such domestic items.

When awarding Recovery Act funds for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work that involves iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods materials covered under international agreements, the agency shall use the award term described in the following paragraphs:

(a) Definitions. As used in this award term and condition—

Designated country—(1) A World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement country (Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom;

(2) A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) country (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, or Singapore);

(3) A United States-European Communities Exchange of Letters (May 15, 1995) country: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom; or

(4) An Agreement between Canada and the United States of America on Government Procurement country (Canada).

Designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods—(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a designated country; or

(2) In the case of a manufactured good that consist in whole or in part of materials from another country, has been substantially transformed in a designated country into a new and different manufactured good distinct from the materials from which it was transformed.

Domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured good—(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States; or

(2) In the case of a manufactured good that consists in whole or in part of materials from another country, has been substantially transformed in the United States into a new and different manufactured good distinct from the materials from which it was transformed. There is no requirement with regard to the origin of components or subcomponents in manufactured goods or products, as long as the manufacture of the goods occurs in the United States.

Foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured good means iron, steel and/or manufactured good that is not domestic or designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured good.

Manufactured good means a good brought to the construction site for incorporation into the building or work that has been—

(1) Processed into a specific form and shape; or

(2) Combined with other raw material to create a material that has different properties than the properties of the individual raw materials.

Public building and public work means a public building of, and a public work of, a governmental entity (the United States; the District of Columbia; commonwealths, territories, and minor outlying islands of the United States; State and local governments; and multi-State, regional, or interstate entities which have governmental functions). These buildings and works may include, without limitation, bridges, dams, plants, highways, parkways, streets, subways, tunnels, sewers, mains, power lines, pumping stations, heavy generators, railways, airports, terminals, docks, piers, wharves, ways, lighthouses, buoys, jetties, breakwaters, levees, and canals, and the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of such buildings and works.

Steel means an alloy that includes at least 50 percent iron, between .02 and 2 percent carbon, and may include other elements.

(b) Iron, steel, and manufactured goods. (1) The award term and condition described in this section implements—

(i) Section 1605(a) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) (Recovery Act), by requiring that all iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States; and

(ii) Section 1605(d), which requires application of the Buy American requirement in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements. The restrictions of section 1605 of the Recovery Act do not apply to designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods. The Buy American requirement in section 1605 shall not be applied where the iron, steel or manufactured goods used in the project are from a Party to an international agreement that obligates the recipient to treat the goods and services of that Party the same as domestic goods and services. As of January 1, 2010, this obligation shall only apply to projects with an estimated value of $7,804,000 or more.

(2) The recipient shall use only domestic or designated country iron, steel, and manufactured goods in performing the work funded in whole or part with this award, except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this section.

(3) The requirement in paragraph (b)(2) of this section does not apply to the iron, steel, and manufactured goods listed by the Federal Government as follows:

(4) The award official may add other iron, steel, and manufactured goods to the list in paragraph (b)(3) of this section if the Federal Government determines that—

(i) The cost of domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods would be unreasonable. The cost of domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods used in the project is unreasonable when the cumulative cost of such material will increase the overall cost of the project by more than 25 percent;

(ii) The iron, steel, and/or manufactured good is not produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality; or

(iii) The application of the restriction of section 1605 of the Recovery Act would be inconsistent with the public interest.

(c) Request for determination of inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act or the Buy American Act. (1)(i) Any recipient request to use foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods in accordance with paragraph (b)(4) of this section shall include adequate information for Federal Government evaluation of the request, including—

(A) A description of the foreign and domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods;

(B) Unit of measure;

(C) Quantity;

(D) Cost;

(E) Time of delivery or availability;

(F) Location of the project;

(G) Name and address of the proposed supplier; and

(H) A detailed justification of the reason for use of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods cited in accordance with paragraph (b)(4) of this section.

(ii) A request based on unreasonable cost shall include a reasonable survey of the market and a completed cost comparison table in the format in paragraph (d) of this section.

(iii) The cost of iron, steel, or manufactured goods shall include all delivery costs to the construction site and any applicable duty.

(iv) Any recipient request for a determination submitted after Recovery Act funds have been obligated for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair shall explain why the recipient could not reasonably foresee the need for such determination and could not have requested the determination before the funds were obligated. If the recipient does not submit a satisfactory explanation, the award official need not make a determination.

(2) If the Federal Government determines after funds have been obligated for a project for construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, the award official will amend the award to allow use of the foreign iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods. When the basis for the exception is nonavailability or public interest, the amended award shall reflect adjustment of the award amount, redistribution of budgeted funds, and/or other appropriate actions taken to cover costs associated with acquiring or using the foreign iron, steel, and/or relevant manufactured goods.. When the basis for the exception is the unreasonable cost of the domestic iron, steel, or manufactured goods, the award official shall adjust the award amount or redistribute budgeted funds, as appropriate, by at least the differential established in 2 CFR 176.110(a).

(3) Unless the Federal Government determines that an exception to section 1605 of the Recovery Act applies, use of foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods other than designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods is noncompliant with the applicable Act.

(d) Data. To permit evaluation of requests under paragraph (b) of this section based on unreasonable cost, the applicant shall include the following information and any applicable supporting data based on the survey of suppliers:

When requesting applications or proposals for Recovery Act programs or activities that may involve construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work, and involve iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods covered under international agreements, the agency shall use the notice described in the following paragraphs in the solicitation:

(a) Definitions. Designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured good, manufactured good, public building and public work, and steel, as used in this provision, are defined in 2 CFR 176.160(a).

(b) Requests for determinations of inapplicability. A prospective applicant requesting a determination regarding the inapplicability of section 1605 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-5) (Recovery Act) should submit the request to the award official in time to allow a determination before submission of applications or proposals. The prospective applicant shall include the information and applicable supporting data required by 2 CFR 176.160 (c) and (d) in the request. If an applicant has not requested a determination regarding the inapplicability of section 1605 of the Recovery Act before submitting its application or proposal, or has not received a response to a previous request, the applicant shall include the information and supporting data in the application or proposal.

(c) Evaluation of project proposals. If the Federal Government determines that an exception based on unreasonable cost of domestic iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods applies, the Federal Government will evaluate a project requesting exception to the requirements of section 1605 of the Recovery Act by adding to the estimated total cost of the project 25 percent of the project cost if foreign iron, steel, or manufactured goods are used based on unreasonable cost of comparable domestic iron, steel, or manufactured goods.

(d) Alternate project proposals. (1) When a project proposal includes foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, other than designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, that are not listed by the Federal Government in this Buy American notice in the request for applications or proposals, the applicant may submit an alternate proposal based on use of equivalent domestic or designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods.

(2) If an alternate proposal is submitted, the applicant shall submit a separate cost comparison table prepared in accordance with paragraphs 2 CFR 176.160(c) and (d) for the proposal that is based on the use of any foreign iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods for which the Federal Government has not yet determined an exception applies.

(3) If the Federal Government determines that a particular exception requested in accordance with 2 CFR 176.160(b) does not apply, the Federal Government will evaluate only those proposals based on use of the equivalent domestic or designated country iron, steel, and/or manufactured goods, and the applicant shall be required to furnish such domestic or designated country items.

General Exceptions: The following restrictions and exceptions are excluded from U.S. obligations under international agreements:

1. The restrictions attached to Federal funds to States for mass transit and highway projects.

2. Dredging.

The World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) Parties: Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.

The Free Trade Agreements and the respective Parties to the agreements are:

(1) Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA): Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua;

(2) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): Canada and Mexico;

(3) United States-Australia Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Australia FTA);

(4) United States-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Bahrain FTA);

(5) United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Chile FTA);

(6) United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Israel FTA);

(7) United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Morocco FTA);

(8) United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Oman FTA);

(9) United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (U.S.-Peru TPA); and

(10) United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (U.S.-Singapore FTA).

United States-European Communities Exchange of Letters (May 30, 1995) (U.S.-EC Exchange of Letters) applies to EC Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom.

Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on Government Procurement (Feb. 10, 2010) (U.S.-Canada Agreement): Applies only to Canada.