I worked on a Low Income Housing Tax Credit project where the developer had granite countertops and solid wood cabinets shipped from China for roughly the same cost as standard economy cabinets and commodity laminate countertops.

What made it practical was the specifics of LIHTC funding. A significant amount of the funds had to be spent upfront on materials and/or labor or it would have been lost. This made the long lead time beneficial because early stages of construction such as clearing and grubbing are relatively inexpensive whereas finishes are relatively expensive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-Income_Housing_Tax_Credit

They are doing that with the Bay Bridge:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/business/global/26bridge.h...

That is common practice already.