On August 31, 2022, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a notice of a proposed waiver of Buy America requirements for EV chargers. After reviewing the comments received, on February 21, 2023, FHWA established a Buy America, Build America (BABA) Implementation Plan for EV charging equipment through a temporary public interest waiver of Buy America requirements for steel, iron, manufactured products, and construction materials in EV chargers under 23 U.S.C. 313 and section 70914 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
As of March 23, 2023 (the effective date), the Final Waiver applied to all EV chargers manufactured before July 1, 2024, whose final assembly occurs in the United States, and whose installation has begun by October 1, 2024 (“the Final Assembly Phase”). Starting with EV chargers manufactured on or after July 1, 2024, FHWA will begin to phase out coverage of EV chargers under the Final Waiver, and the Final Waiver will then only apply to EV chargers manufactured on or after July 1, 2024, whose final assembly occurs in the United States, and for which the cost of components manufactured in the United States is at least 55 percent of the cost of all components (“the 55 percent phase”). Further, under the Final Waiver, if an EV charger’s housing is predominantly iron or steel, such housing is not covered by the Final Waiver at any time; instead, such housing must comply with FHWA’s existing Buy America requirements.
Please click on this link to submit a comment by December 26, 2023.
The FHWA intends to issue at least one additional RFI before July 1, 2024.