Is imported cement Buy America compliant?

Buyers ask us this early, usually before they ask about price. The short answer is that the federal Buy America rules do not put a domestic-production requirement on cement as a standalone material. The longer answer is where the limits are, because most of the real risk sits outside the federal rule. This article walks through the text we checked, quotes it where precision matters, and ends with the records worth keeping.

What does Buy America require?

The Build America, Buy America Act is division G, title IX, subtitle A of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58). Its preference says that none of the funds made available for a federal award for an infrastructure project may be obligated unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials incorporated into the project are produced in the United States (2 CFR 184.1(b)).

Notice what is on that list. Cement is not named. Whether it is caught depends on how the rules define "construction materials" and "manufactured products."

Why are cement and cementitious materials excluded?

Congress wrote the exclusion into the statute itself. Section 70917(c) says that, for purposes of the act, the term “construction materials” shall not include cement and cementitious materials, aggregates such as stone, sand, or gravel, or aggregate binding agents or additives.

OMB implemented that at 2 CFR 184.3 in two moves. First, it limited "construction materials" to articles that consist of only one of eight listed items:

• non-ferrous metals
• plastic and polymer-based products
• glass, including optic glass
• fiber optic cable
• optical fiber
• lumber
• engineered wood
• drywall

Second, it defined a separate term, "section 70917(c) materials," as cement and cementitious materials, aggregates such as stone, sand, or gravel, and aggregate binding agents or additives. Under 2 CFR 184.4(e), every article is sorted into one of four categories: iron or steel products, manufactured products, construction materials, or section 70917(c) materials. The Buy America Preference then applies only to the single category an item falls into (2 CFR 184.4(f)), and the preference itself is stated for iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials.

How does FHWA apply this on highway projects?

FHWA's rule at 23 CFR 635.410 uses the term "excluded materials," defined as section 70917(c) materials as defined in 2 CFR 184.3 (635.410(c)(1)(ii)). The rule does not set a domestic-production standard for them.

FHWA was explicit about this in the preamble to its January 2025 final rule on manufactured products (90 FR 2932). It wrote that “cement brought to the work site for permanent incorporation into a Federal-aid project is not subject to FHWA's Buy America requirements,” and that a Buy America preference “cannot apply to an excluded material standing alone.” FHWA's own Buy America Q&A says the same thing in plainer words: construction materials do not include cement, and its product table answers "generally, no" for cement.

Does it matter whether the cement arrives wet, dry, or inside a product?

Yes, because classification is made on the item's status "at the time it is brought to the work site" (2 CFR 184.4(e); 23 CFR 635.410(c)(2)). Two cases come up often.

Ready-mix. 23 CFR 635.410(c)(1)(iv) says mixtures of excluded materials delivered to a work site without final form for incorporation into a project are not a manufactured product. FHWA's Q&A gives wet concrete as its example of an unsettled mixture. A ready-mix producer batching imported cement and delivering wet concrete is therefore outside the manufactured-product rules on that reading.

Precast. The preamble to 2 CFR part 184 says excluded materials may be combined into a manufactured product, and FHWA's Q&A names precast concrete as the example. Once cement is combined with aggregates and other inputs into a precast unit, that unit is assessed as a manufactured product on its own. FHWA's preamble says an excluded material used as a component is considered the same as any other component.

What is the test for a precast product?

Under 23 CFR 635.410(c)(1)(vii), a manufactured product is "produced in the United States" when:

• for projects obligated on or after October 1, 2025, the product was manufactured in the United States; and
• for projects obligated on or after October 1, 2026, it was manufactured in the United States and the cost of its components that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States is greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components.

Component cost is the acquisition cost, including transportation to the place of incorporation and any applicable duty (23 CFR 635.410(c)(3); 2 CFR 184.5). The text we read does not carve cement out of the "all components" figure, so in plain terms imported cement is not counted as a US-produced component. Whether a given precast unit still clears 55 percent depends on every other input, and that is a calculation the precaster and the owner have to run on the actual bill of materials. Precast components that are predominantly iron or steel must also meet the iron and steel requirements of 635.410(b) (635.410(c)(2)(i)).

Where does the federal exclusion stop?

The exclusion answers one question: does federal Buy America restrict this cement. It does not answer whether your project can use it. Four limits matter.

• State domestic-preference laws. The federal treatment does not override a state law that gives preference to domestic material. Check the law of the state where the work is built.
• Owner specifications. A public or private owner can require domestic cement in its own contract documents, whatever federal law requires.
• Grant and award conditions. Under 2 CFR 184.4(b), the Buy America Preference must be included in the terms of federal awards and flows down to subawards, contracts, and purchase orders. Read the actual award terms, because a funding program may add conditions of its own.
• Source approval. Separately from Buy America, state DOTs qualify cement through approved-source lists and conformance documentation. A mill that is not on the approved list generally cannot supply that work, whatever its country of origin.

What documentation should a buyer keep?

We did not find a cement-specific certificate required by the federal rule. 23 CFR 635.410(d) says standard recipient and Federal-aid contract procedures may be used to assure compliance, and FHWA's Q&A says states may use any process that ensures compliance. So the contract in front of you sets the paperwork. As a practical file, we suggest keeping:

1. The funding and contract language: which program pays for the work, the Buy America clauses in the award and contract, and any state or owner domestic-preference clause.
2. A short written classification note saying the cement is delivered as cement, or as an unsettled mixture without final form such as wet concrete, with the date and the work-site status.
3. Source and conformance records: mill test reports, approved-source status, an EPD if the project requires one, and shipping documents showing the producer and country of origin.
4. For precast, the component cost records behind the 55 percent calculation, including freight and any duty on each component.
5. A written confirmation from the owner, engineer, or state DOT on how it classifies imported cement for this project, obtained before you place the order.

What should you do before you sign?

Match the facts to the rule. Identify the funding source, the state, the owner's specification, and whether the cement will arrive as cement, as wet concrete, or inside a precast unit. Then ask the owner or state DOT for its position in writing. We provide a citation packet with every quote so your counsel and your state DOT contact can review the same text we did.