A new South Carolina law requires all iron and steel in public works projects to be US-produced—and it affects how you bid and source materials starting now.
Most South Carolina manufacturers don't realize that a provision quietly embedded in H4709 has already reshaped the rules for bidding on state and local public works projects. If your business supplies or fabricates iron or steel components for construction, infrastructure, or government contracts, this matters to your bottom line immediately.
H4709, adopted June 25, 2024, added a new requirement to South Carolina's public procurement code. Under Section 11-35-5350(B)(1), any contractor or supplier bidding on a state or local public works project must now source all permanently incorporated iron and steel products exclusively from US manufacturers. This means the material must be melted, formed, and coated in the United States—not imported and finished here, but produced domestically from start to finish.
The law took effect upon the Governor's approval. The fiscal impact window opened February 4, 2026, meaning state and local agencies have been implementing these rules and evaluating bids under this standard.
If you're a fabricator, steel supplier, or general contractor competing for public works bids in South Carolina, you now have a hard constraint: non-compliant bids are contractually barred. There's no waiver, no exception process mentioned in the statute. A bid that includes foreign-sourced steel—even if it's cheaper or more readily available—will be rejected.
This creates two immediate pressures. First, material costs often rise when you're limited to domestic suppliers. US-produced steel typically carries a price premium. Second, if your current supply chain relies on foreign material or on fabricators who use it, you may need to find new suppliers or lose contracts. For smaller fabricators without established US-only sourcing, this can mean being priced out of public work entirely.
General contractors bidding on projects that include structural steel, reinforcement, or any permanently installed iron or steel component must now verify the origin of every piece. That verification burden—and the cost of compliance—flows down through the supply chain.
Review your current supply relationships. If you bid on public works, identify which of your materials are subject to this rule and confirm your suppliers meet the US-production requirement. Document your sourcing; agencies will ask for proof of compliance. If you're currently using foreign-sourced material, begin identifying US alternatives now—waiting until a bid deadline creates risk and limits your options.
For contractors, build compliance verification into your bid process. For suppliers, be prepared to provide sourcing documentation as a condition of being included in a bid.
The full text of H4709, Section 1, is available through the South Carolina General Assembly. A detailed, business-specific summary of compliance steps is available upon request.