The FTA recently published a Federal Register notice announcing a five-year extension of the partial Buy-America waiver for vans and minivans originally issued in October of 2022.
FTA’s Buy America statute requires that rolling stock, including vans and minivans, must have more than 70-percent domestic content and that final assembly must occur in the United States. FTA concluded there are currently no mass-produced, unmodified non-ADA accessible passenger vans or minivans that meet FTA’s domestic content requirement.
As a result, FTA has extended its waiver for five years in response to stakeholder requests. Final assembly of these vehicles must occur in the United States, and to maximize domestic content, the waiver requires that the engines or motors must be manufactured in the United States, as reported under the American Automobile Labeling Act. FTA may publish a rescission notice if it determines that a fully Buy America-compliant vehicle has become available.