Notice of Buy America Waiver

O. Kevin Vincent
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
December 16, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 241 (Tuesday, December 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74812-74813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29402]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA--2014-0130]


Notice of Buy America Waiver

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice of Buy America waiver.

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SUMMARY: This Notice provides NHTSA's finding with respect to a request 
from the Hawaii Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Safety 
Office, Highway Safety Section (MVSO) to waive the requirements of Buy 
America. NHTSA finds that a cost waiver is appropriate for MVSO to 
purchase eight foreign-made training motorcycles using Federal grant 
funds because the cost of domestically produced products is twenty-five 
percent more than the cost of the foreign-made products.

DATES: The effective date of this waiver is December 26, 2014. Written

[[Page 74813]]

comments regarding this notice may be submitted to NHTSA and must be 
received on or before: December 31, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted using any one of the 
following methods:
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Fax: Written comments may be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
     Internet: To submit comments electronically, go to the 
Federal regulations Web site at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
online instructions for submitting comments.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All comments submitted in relation to this waiver 
must include the agency name and docket number. Please note that all 
comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. You 
may also call the Docket at 202-366-9324.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For program issues, contact Barbara 
Sauers, Office of Regional Operations and Program Delivery, NHTSA 
(phone: 202-366-0144). For legal issues, contact Andrew DiMarsico, 
Office of Chief Counsel, NHTSA (phone: 202-366-5263). You may send mail 
to these officials at the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice provides NHTSA's finding that a 
waiver of the Buy America requirements, 23 U.S.C. 313, is appropriate 
for the Hawaii's MVSO to purchase eight training motorcycles using 
grant funds authorized under 23 U.S.C. 402 (section 402) and 23 U.S.C. 
405(f) (section 405) for training motorcycles. Section 402 funds are 
available for use by State Highway Safety Programs to reduce traffic 
accidents and deaths, injuries and property damage. 23 U.S.C. 402(a). 
Section 405(f) funds are available for use by State Highway Safety 
Programs to implement effective programs to reduce the number of single 
and multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcyclists that, among other 
things, includes supporting training of motorcyclists. 23 U.S.C. 
405(f).
    Buy America provides that NHTSA ``shall not obligate any funds 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Surface Transportation 
Assistance Act of 1982 (96 Stat. 2097) or [Title 23] and administered 
by the Department of Transportation, unless steel, iron, and 
manufactured products used in such project are produced in the United 
States.'' 23 U.S.C. 313. However, NHTSA may waive those requirements if 
(1) their application would be inconsistent with the public interest; 
(2) such materials and products are not produced in the United States 
in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory 
quality; or (3) the inclusion of domestic material will increase the 
cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 percent. 23 U.S.C. 
313(b). In this instance, NHTSA has determined a cost waiver is 
appropriate for the eight motorcycles because domestically produced 
motorcycles would increase the cost by more than 25 percent.
    MVSO seeks a waiver to purchase two 2015 Suzuki TU250X motorcycles 
at $4,399 per unit and six 2013 Suzuki DR200SE motorcycles at $4,299 
per unit. The total purchase price for all eight motorcycles is 
$36,221. Hawaii's motorcyclist training program is designed to provide 
students the ability to learn and practice fundamentals of safe riding 
behavior, skills and motorcycle handling. Hawaii asserts that if 
students were required to provide their own motorcycles, many people 
would be discouraged from taking the safety courses and it would 
encourage some individuals to obtain a motorcycle and unsafely operate 
it on public roads before they are properly trained and licensed to do 
so. MVSO states that having a fleet of training motorcycles available 
for use during training ensures that the road skills portion of the 
curricula can be taught effectively and is more accessible to the 
general public. MVSO desires to use these motorcycles for its 
motorcyclist training program because they are designed specifically 
with smaller engine displacement (250 CC), which is consistent with 
motorcyclist training programs. Hawaii, however, is unable to identify 
any training motorcycles that meet the Buy America requirements. MVSO 
researched \1\ motorcycle models made by the two American motorcycle 
manufacturers, Harley-Davidson, Inc. and Victory Motorcycles. Harley 
Davidson produces a 500 CC motorcycle called the Street 500, with a 
MSRP of $6799. Victory Motorcycles (including Indian Motorcycles) 
produces much heavier and larger engine displacement than 500 CC, with 
the lowest MSRP of $12,499 for the Victory Vegas 8-ball motorcycle. 
MVSO was unable to find a motorcycle that meets the requirements for 
training motorcycles that would meet the Buy America requirements. 
NHTSA is unaware of any other domestic motorcycle manufacturers other 
than Harley-Davidson and Victory. Since the Harley Davidson Street has 
a starting price of $6,799, it is more than 25 percent higher than the 
cost of a 2015 Suzuki TU250X and 2013 Suzuki DR200SE motorcycles. 
Accordingly, a Buy America waiver is appropriate. NHTSA invites public 
comment on this conclusion.
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    \1\ MVSO states that its Motorcycle Safety Program Coordinator 
conducted research via phone calls, emails and Internet searches to 
try to identify domestically produced motorcycles.
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    In light of the above discussion, and pursuant to 23 U.S.C. 
313(b)(3), NHTSA finds that it is appropriate to grant a waiver from 
the Buy America requirements to MVSO in order to purchase two 2015 
Suzuki TU250X and six 2013 Suzuki DR200SE motorcycles. This waiver 
applies to Hawaii and all other States seeking to use section 402 and 
405 funds to purchase these motorcycles for the purposes mentioned 
herein. This waiver will continue through fiscal year 2015 and will 
allow the purchase of these items as required for Hawaii's MVSO and its 
training programs. Accordingly, this waiver will expire at the 
conclusion of fiscal year 2015 (September 30, 2015). In accordance with 
the provisions of Section 117 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy of Users Technical 
Corrections Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-244, 122 Stat. 1572), NHTSA is 
providing this notice as its finding that a waiver of the Buy America 
requirements is appropriate for certain Suzuki motorcycles. Written 
comments on this finding may be submitted through any of the methods 
discussed above. NHTSA may reconsider these findings, if through 
comment, it learns of and can confirm the existence of a comparable 
domestically made product to the items granted a waiver.
    This finding should not be construed as an endorsement or approval 
of any products by NHTSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. The 
United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers.

    Authority:  23 U.S.C. 313; Pub. L. 110-161.

    Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 
part 1.95.
O. Kevin Vincent,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-29402 Filed 12-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P