AGC recently submitted comments supporting the Buy America waiver for EV chargers and encouraged FHWA to not set an arbitrary expiration date for the waiver, but rather to focus on market research of American manufacturing of EV chargers.

On August 31, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced they were seeking comments on a proposed waiver of the Buy America requirements for electric vehicle (EV) chargers and all components of EV chargers. AGC recently submitted comments supporting the Buy America waiver for EV chargers and encouraged FHWA to not set an arbitrary expiration date for the waiver, and instead focus on market research of American manufacturing of EV chargers. In addition, AGC pushed FHWA to use the manufacturing date of the product as the date on which to judge whether the EV charging stations are compliant with Buy America requirements – not the installation date which FHWA had proposed.

AGC also expressed frustration that the agency did not undertake outreach and research to a similar degree of rigor on other manufactured products and construction materials subject to the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA). While this specific waiver will address the challenges present with EV charging stations, the manufactured product is merely one example of a much larger industry-wide problem when it comes to meeting these new requirements. AGC continues to be frustrated with the lack of guidance on these new requirements as we approach the expiration of the temporary waiver on November 10^th.

For more information, contact Alex Etchen at [email protected].