USDOT today published a final rule that amends FHWA’s Buy America regulation to terminate the general waiver for manufactured products and establish requirements for manufactured products used in federal-aid highway projects.
According to a department news release, “The Buy America Requirements for Manufactured Products Final Rule ends the previous Manufactured Products General Waiver, a general applicability waiver in existence for more than four decades that waived FHWA’s Buy America requirement for manufactured products. The new rule aims to maximize the use of domestically produced manufactured products permanently incorporated in federal-aid highway and bridge projects.” It adds that a two-phase rollout is contemplated. “For projects obligated on or after October 1, 2025, final assembly of all manufactured projects must occur in the U.S. For projects obligated on or after October 1, 2026, in addition to the final assembly requirement, the cost of components of products that are mined, produced, or manufactured in the U.S. must be greater than 55 percent of the total cost of all components of the manufactured product.”
“The new rule does not change the Buy America requirements that currently apply to iron or steel products. For clarity, the new rule does provide definitions of iron or steel products and manufactured products to differentiate between products that must comply with FHWA’s existing Buy America requirements for iron and steel and products that must comply with FHWA’s new Buy America requirements for manufactured products.”
The Federal Register notice includes information on the origin and purpose of the rule and the waiver, the decision to rescind the general waiver on manufactured products, and the final rule’s impact on projects in development.
FHWA’s Buy America web page has extensive information on the rule and its application to federally aided surface transportation construction.