On February 12, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a notice to modify the current “Buy America” waiver for electric vehicle (EV) chargers funded through federal programs like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and Charging Fueling and Infrastructure (CFI) program – both hallmarks of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and persistent targets of the Trump Administration’s anti-EV campaign. This proposal considers adjusting the current 55% domestic content requirement to 100% – a standard no charger currently made in the U.S. could comply with.
The Trump administration falsely claims this change could bring more American jobs in EV charging manufacturing to the U.S. In reality, such a decision could ground the NEVI and CFI programs to a halt, as no EV charger currently made in the U.S. can meet this standard. This would mean fewer chargers being installed by American companies and their workforce, in addition to progress halted on filling the gaps of public charging across the U.S. and Minnesota. Public funding like NEVI and CFI is especially important to serve communities that the private market cannot profitably serve yet, such as rural areas, renters, and residents of multifamily properties.
In contrast, the current domestic content standard for EV chargers, which was finalized by the Biden Administration in 2023, spurred the creation of about a dozen EV charging manufacturing sites in the U.S. – a result that was crucially aided by the since-slashed Inflation Reduction Act clean manufacturing incentives. This current attempt to undercut EV chargers’ “Buy America” waiver is yet another effort by the Trump Administration to dismantle American clean energy manufacturing.
The 2023 “Buy America” waiver for federally funded EV chargers spurred innovation and domestic manufacturing. This new proposal from FHWA would do the opposite, and continues the Trump Administration’s undemocratic attack on previously bipartisan-approved EV funding – an effort which had just been handed a loss in late January from a U.S. Federal Judge.
Can you submit a comment today? The Federal Highway Administration needs to hear how this proposal is not in the best interest of Americans, and will delay progress on equitable access to EV charging.