{"id":8849,"date":"2026-09-28T07:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T05:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfinox.com\/?p=8849"},"modified":"2026-10-02T07:54:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:54:44","slug":"dfars-and-specialty-metals-what-it-takes-to-supply-fasteners-to-the-u-s-department-of-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mfinox.com\/en\/dfars-and-specialty-metals-what-it-takes-to-supply-fasteners-to-the-u-s-department-of-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"DFARS and specialty metals: What It Takes to Supply Fasteners to the U.S. Department of Defense"},"content":{"rendered":" \n

A request for a proposal arrives from an American contractor, and the specifications state \u201cDFARS compliant.\u201d Two words, no other details. Anyone who hasn\u2019t previously worked on U.S. defense contracts is faced with a requirement that seems bureaucratic but actually determines the composition of the supply chain upstream<\/strong>, even before the choice of alloy is made. <\/p> \n \n

The key point for fastener manufacturers isn\u2019t the entire DFARS\u2014which is a massive body of regulations\u2014but a specific clause: the one on specialty metals<\/strong>. And the good news, which almost no one knows, is that Italy is among the qualified countries<\/strong>. An Italian supplier is not excluded\u2014they just need to be able to document it. <\/p> \n \n

What is it, in a nutshell?<\/h2> \n \n

The DFARS<\/strong> \u2014 Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement<\/em> \u2014is the set of rules that supplements the general U.S. federal procurement regulations for Department of Defense supplies. Within the DFARS, the clauses on specialty metals (in the 252.225 series) implement a statutory provision that imposes an origin requirement on certain metals. <\/p> \n \n

The principle is simple: certain metals used in defense supplies must have been smelted or manufactured in the United States or in a qualified country<\/strong>. This is not a quality requirement\u2014it is a country-of-origin requirement\u2014and it is either met or not met, regardless of how good the material is. <\/p> \n \n

What materials are involved?<\/h2> \n \n

Here’s the surprise for those who work with stainless steel: the definition of “specialty metal” is much broader than the name suggests.<\/p> \n \n

\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Category<\/th> \nThreshold<\/th> \n<\/tr> \n<\/thead> \n
Steel<\/td> \nManganese content greater than 1.65%, silicon content greater than 0.60%, or copper content greater than 0.60%<\/td> \n<\/tr> \n
Or more than 0.25%<\/strong> of any one of the following: aluminum, chromium, cobalt, niobium, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, or vanadium<\/td> \n<\/tr> \n
Nickel, iron-nickel, and cobalt-based alloys<\/td> \nWith non-iron alloying elements totaling more than 10%<\/td> \n<\/tr> \n
Titanium<\/td> \nTitanium and its alloys, no threshold<\/td> \n<\/tr> \n
Zirconium<\/td> \nZirconium and its alloys, no threshold<\/td> \n<\/tr> \n<\/tbody> \n<\/table> \n
Summary of the criteria. The current text of the clause takes precedence over any summary: it must be verified for the specific contract. <\/figcaption> \n<\/figure> \n \n

You only need to look at the 0.25% chromium threshold to understand the scope: every stainless steel is, by definition, a specialty metal<\/strong>, since it must contain at least 10.5% chromium to be considered stainless\u2014forty times the threshold. The same applies to duplex and super duplex steels, to all nickel alloys, and to titanium<\/a>, which is explicitly named without any content limit. <\/p> \n \n

In practice: If your product consists of fasteners made of stainless steel, duplex steel, nickel alloy, or titanium intended for a U.S. defense contract, the clause always applies. There is no such thing as \u201cmy material is not a specialty metal.\u201d <\/p> \n \n

The criterion is the casting, not the machining<\/h2> \n \n

This is the crux of the compliance issue\u2014and the point that is most often misunderstood. The clause refers to metal that has been cast<\/strong> in an eligible country\u2014not to metal that has been machined, turned, threaded, or heat-treated. <\/p> \n \n

The two consequences are mirror images of each other and should both be kept in mind:<\/p> \n\r\n