Buy America Waiver Notification |
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Gregory G. Nadeau
Federal Highway Administration
September 4, 2014
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 171 (Thursday, September 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52798-52799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21022]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
Buy America Waiver Notification
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that
a Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid
funds for 50 State projects involving the purchase or retrofit of
vehicles or vehicle components on the condition that they be assembled
in the U.S.
DATES: The effective date of the waiver is September 5, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this notice,
please contact Mr. Gerald Yakowenko, FHWA Office of Program
Administration, 202-366-1562, or via email at gerald.yakowenko@dot.gov.
For legal questions, please contact Mr. Jomar Maldonado, FHWA Office of
the Chief Counsel, 202-366-1373, or via email at
jomar.maldonado@dot.gov. Office hours for the FHWA are from 8:00 a.m.
to 4:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
An electronic copy of this document may be downloaded from the
Federal Register's home page at http://www.archives.gov and the
Government Printing Office's database at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara.
Background
This notice provides information regarding FHWA's finding that a
Buy America waiver is appropriate for the obligation of Federal-aid
funds for 50 State projects involving the purchase or retrofit of
vehicles (including sedans, vans, pickups, Sports Utility Vehicles
(SUV), trucks, buses, street sweepers) or vehicle components (such as
exhaust controls and auxiliary power units) on the condition that they
be assembled in the U.S. The waiver would apply to approximately 820
vehicles. The requests, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/cmaq140722.cfm, are incorporated by reference
into this notice. The purposes of these projects include the
improvement of air quality (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
Improvement Program projects), implementation of the National Bridge
and Tunnel Inventory and Inspection Program, and the implementation of
the FHWA's Recreational Trails Program.
Title 23, Code of Federal Regulations, section 635.410 requires
that steel or iron materials (including protective coatings) that will
be permanently incorporated in a Federal-aid project must be
manufactured in the U.S. For FHWA, this means that all the processes
that modified the chemical content,
[[Page 52799]]
physical shape or size, or final finish of the material (from initial
melting and mixing, continuing through the bending and coating)
occurred in the U.S. The statute and regulations create a process for
granting waivers from the Buy America requirements when its application
would be inconsistent with the public interest or when satisfactory
quality domestic steel and iron products are not sufficiently
available. In 1983, the FHWA determined that it was both in the public
interest and consistent with the legislative intent to waive Buy
America for manufactured products other than steel manufactured
products. However, FHWA's national waiver for manufactured products
does not apply to the requests in this notice because they involve
predominately steel and iron manufactured products. The FHWA's Buy
America requirements do not have special provisions for applying Buy
America to ``rolling stock'' such as vehicles or vehicle components
(see 49 U.S.C. 5323(j)(2)(C), 49 CFR 661.11, and 49 U.S.C.
24405(a)(2)(C) for examples of Buy America rolling stock provisions for
other DOT agencies).
Based on all the information available to the agency, FHWA
concludes that there are no domestic manufacturers that produce the
vehicles and vehicle components identified in this notice in such a way
that their steel and iron elements are manufactured domestically. The
FHWA's Buy America requirements were tailored to the types of products
that are typically used in highway construction, which generally meet
the requirement that steel and iron materials be manufactured
domestically. Vehicles were not the types of products that were
initially envisioned to meet FHWA Buy America requirements. In today's
global industry, vehicles are assembled with iron and steel components
that are manufactured all over the world. The FHWA is not aware of any
domestically produced vehicle on the market that meets the FHWA's Buy
America requirement to have all its iron and steel be manufactured
exclusively in the U.S. For example, the Chevrolet Volt, which was
identified by many commenters in a November 21, 2011, Federal Register
Notice (76 FR 72027) as a car that is made in the U.S., is comprised of
only 45 percent of U.S. and Canadian content according to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Part 583 American Automobile
Labeling Act Report Web page (http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/Part+583+American+Automobile+Labeling+Act+(AALA)+Reports). Moreover,
there is no indication of how much of this 45 percent content is U.S.-
manufactured (from initial melting and mixing) iron and steel content.
In accordance with Division A, section 122 of the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-284), FHWA
published a notice of intent to issue a waiver on its Web site at
(http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/construction/contracts/waivers.cfm?id=98) on
July 23. The FHWA received three comments in response to the
publication. All three commenters supported granting a waiver.
Based on FHWA's conclusion that there are no domestic manufacturers
that can produce the vehicles and vehicle components identified in this
notice in such a way that steel and iron materials are manufactured
domestically, and after consideration of the comments received, FHWA
finds that application of the FHWA's Buy America requirements to these
products is inconsistent with the public interest (23 U.S.C. 313(b)(1)
and 23 CFR 635.410(c)(2)(i)). However, FHWA believes that it is in the
public interest and consistent with the Buy America requirements to
impose the condition that the vehicles and the vehicle components be
assembled in the U.S. Requiring final assembly to be performed in the
U.S. is consistent with past guidance to the FHWA Division Offices on
manufactured products (see Memorandum on Buy America Policy Response,
Dec. 22, 1997, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/contracts/122297.cfm). A waiver of the Buy America requirement without any regard
to where the vehicle is assembled would diminish the purpose of the Buy
America requirement. Moreover, in today's economic environment, the Buy
America requirement is especially significant in that it will ensure
that Federal Highway Trust Fund dollars are used to support and create
jobs in the U.S. This approach is similar to the partial waivers
previously given for various vehicle projects. Thus, so long as the
final assembly of the 50 vehicle projects (including sedans, vans,
pickups, SUVs, trucks, buses, street sweepers, and tractors) and
vehicle components (such as exhaust controls and auxiliary power units)
occurs in the U.S., applicants to this waiver request may proceed to
purchase these vehicles and equipment consistent with the Buy America
requirement.
In accordance with the provisions of section 117 of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users, Technical Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-244), FHWA is
providing this notice of its finding that a public interest waiver of
Buy America requirements is appropriate on the condition that the
vehicles and vehicle components identified in the notice be assembled
in the U.S. The FHWA invites public comment on this finding for an
additional 15 days following the effective date of the finding.
Comments may be submitted to FHWA's Web site via the link provided to
the waiver page noted above.
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110-161, 23 CFR 635.410.
Issued on: August 27, 2014.
Gregory G. Nadeau,
Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-21022 Filed 9-3-14; 8:45 am]
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