Notice of Proposed Public Interest Waiver of Buy America Domestic Content Requirements for Rolling Stock Procurements In Limited Circumstances
Notice of proposed general public interest waiver and request for comments.
The purpose of this notice is to articulate the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) justification for waiving its Buy America requirements for rolling stock under certain limited circumstances because application of the increased domestic content requirements is inconsistent with public policy. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act amended FTA's Buy America statute to include a phased increase in domestic content for rolling stock. The FAST Act was signed into law on December 4, 2015, but included an effective date of October 1, 2015. FTA proposes a public interest waiver for the following categories of contracts: (1) For contracts entered into between the FAST Act's effective date and date of enactment (i.e., between October 1, 2015 and December 4, 2015), the increased domestic content requirements for FY2018 and beyond will not apply, regardless of when the vehicles are delivered; and (2) for contracts entered into after December 4, 2015 as a result of solicitations for bids or requests for proposals that were advertised before December 4, 2015, the increased domestic content requirements for FY2018 and beyond will not apply, regardless of when the vehicles are delivered. FTA is providing notice of this public interest waiver and seeks public comment. After consideration of the comments, FTA will issue a second Federal Register notice responding to comments and issuing final public interest waivers.