On Tuesday, 20 state attorneys general and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky voiced their opposition to a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) proposal that would require vehicle charger components funded with federal money to be made in the United States.
“This proposal is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to halt electric vehicle charging deployment—this time, by imposing an unachievable standard,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the coalition, said in a press release regarding the letter sent to FHWA.
Bonta said that if implemented, the change will create regulatory uncertainty for American manufacturers, which will cause supply chain disruptions, increase costs, and cede market share to international competitors.
“I urge the administration to withdraw this proposal immediately,” he said.
The letter said the proposed Buy America requirements would make it “impossible for manufacturers to achieve, frustrate congressional intent and impair the public interest by slowing or halting federally funded EV charger deployment nationwide.”
On Feb. 10, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy unveiled the Trump administration’s new proposal to expand a Buy America public interest waiver for EV chargers that raises the required domestic content from 55% up to 100%.
“The Trump administration believes that manufacturers today have the capacity to produce EV chargers in facilities located within the United States, providing an opportunity to maximize the domestic content of products purchased with federal taxpayer dollars,” according to a statement from the Department of Transportation.
In August, Duffy announced revised rules for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula (NEVI) Program, which the Trump administration paused earlier last year for review. The NEVI funding freeze was then lifted in January. The NEVI program was launched by the DOT and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021. It includes $5 billion in grants to the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico to support the installation of EV charging infrastructure with multiple rounds of funding planned from 2022 to 2026. The program was designed to allocate funds to convenience-store chains and other businesses for EV charging port installations.
“We’ve already updated the guidance, slashed red tape and made it easier for states to efficiently build out this infrastructure—delivering nearly double the amount of charging ports completed during the Biden administration,” Duffy said in a Feb. 10 statement.
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