President Trump on Thursday, Jan. 31st added details to his earlier “Buy American” push with a new executive order instructing all agencies to “maximize the use of iron and aluminum as well as steel, cement, and other manufactured products produced in the United States in contracts, sub-contracts, purchase orders, or sub-awards.”

The directive to agency heads builds on an April 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order issued at a time when the Trump administration was expected to press for a major boost in infrastructure construction, which has yet to materialize.

“It is the policy of the executive branch to maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States, in federal procurements and through the terms and conditions of federal financial assistance awards,” the order says, changing the previous term “federal grants” to “federal financial assistance.”

Within 90 days, the head of each agency administering a covered program shall “encourage,” consistent with the law, recipients of federal financial assistance to use, “to the greatest extent practicable, iron and aluminum as well as steel, cement, and other manufactured products produced in the United States in every contract, subcontract, purchase order, or sub‑award that is chargeable against such federal financial assistance award.”

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