Buy America waivers end for federal highway projects

Effective March 17, the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration will implement a final rule that will end its longstanding practice of allowing waivers for federal-aid highway projects. The waivers had allowed products manufactured outside the US to be used in these projects.

“The new federal rule changes outdated policy and boosts American manufacturing,” DOT said in a statement.

The DOT will roll out the final rule in two phases.

In the first phase, “For projects obligated on or after Oct. 1, 2025, final assembly of all manufactured projects must occur in the US.”

In the second phase, “For projects obligated on or after Oct. 1, 2026, in addition to the final assembly requirement, the cost of components of products that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the US must be greater than 55% of the total cost of all components of the manufactured product.”

The final rule comes after a FHWA review of its “manufactured products general waiver.” The review was required by the Biden administration’s Build America, Buy America provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“As we rebuild America’s infrastructure, we want federal highway projects to use domestically manufactured products that create good-paying jobs and promote private sector investment and small business opportunity,” commented US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

“This new rule reverses decades-old policy that effectively allowed the use of taxpayer dollars to purchase foreign products for US transportation purposes,” added Acting Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Gloria M. Shepherd.