1 A contractor has a contract for the construction of an office building for an agency of the federal government. One of the contract specifications requires that all materials used on the project be manufactured in the United States.

A steel supplier has offered steel for the project at a very competitive price.
The general contractor’s project manager accepts the proposal and requests submittal documents. The steel supplier provides the required documents but omits a certificate of origin for the steel. The general contractor’s project engineer reviews the submittal, contacts the supplier, and determines that the steel was manufactured in Mexico. Because this supplier’s price was lowest for the steel needed for the project, it was used in developing the project budget. Not wanting to exceed the budgeted amount for steel, the project engineer chose to forward the steel supplier’s submittal to the structural engineer with no indication of the place of manufacture.
• Were the actions of the project engineer ethical?
• How would you have handled the situation?