Scheduled to be in effect until 2028, the waiver is “a missed opportunity to align with the Biden administration’s goals of accelerating emissions reductions and supporting domestic manufacturing.”
Major labor and environmental groups have expressed concern about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to issue an overly broad waiver of the Build America by America (BABA) requirement for $3 billion. clean port programand a group is discussing This exemption “risks permanently offshoring the clean port technology supply chain and associated manufacturing jobs.”
of Blue Green Alliance (BGA), United Steelworkers (USW)and the AFL-CIO Transportation and Trade Department (TTD) A group representing 37 member unions, including longshore workers and others in the construction and manufacturing industries, was among those that submitted comments to EPA calling for significant improvements to the exemption.Alliance of American Manufacturing (AAM) Comment provided They asked that the waiver be revoked and reissued with significant changes.
of Proposed Waiver It is scheduled to last until 2028, long after funding for the program is likely to end. If implemented, the exemption would eliminate the domestic “manufacturing” requirement as well as the statutory standard of 55% domestic content in manufactured products used in federal tax-funded infrastructure projects. Instead, the waiver would introduce an undefined “final assembly” standard set by the United Steelworkers (USW). warned “It could allow foreign companies to exploit minimum assembly requirements in the United States, potentially limiting job creation.”
EPA is also proposing a supplemental “de minimis” exemption that would allow an additional 10% of port equipment purchases without applying Buy America requirements or even minimal “final assembly” requirements. There is. This is surprising because the EPA already has an outdated non-minimum policy in place that allows foreign content up to 5% of the total project cost to be considered domestic for compliance purposes.
“Taken together, these broad exemption policies undermine Buy America requirements and could lead to significant use of foreign-made equipment with the $3 billion in allocated funding,” USW said. . Said In the comments to the agency.
Some organizations believe that if the exemption were implemented, they would miss an opportunity to strengthen important green manufacturing in the United States, instead giving U.S. taxpayers a favor to China, which dominates the sector. He expressed concern that this may be the case. In fact, just last week, the Biden administration announced that: proceed with the investigation The EPA’s plan to import critical port products is made all the more surprising because of China’s alleged predatory practices in the shipbuilding industry. (Both USW and AAM After the administration’s announcement, we sent supplementary comments to the authorities. )
Additionally, labor and environmental groups argue that this exemption could lead to the loss of manufacturing and supply chains for clean port technology in the United States, further increasing dependence on the United States and therefore not actually contributing to the fight against climate change. It is argued that this will result in a setback.About China — a country associated with manufacturing large carbon footprint.
BGA wrote a letter to the EPA:
“As written, Buy America’s exemption to the proposed Clean Ports program would jeopardize existing U.S. manufacturing jobs and deprive manufacturers already working to shore-shore their supply chains. ” labor practices that crowd out investment and favor rent-seeking manufacturers in low-road environments. ”
TTD President Greg Regan repeated those comments:
“TTD and our affiliates recognize the serious impacts of climate change and the severe consequences we face if we fail to respond with responsible steps to reduce our carbon footprint. , we urge EPA to reconsider this proposed exemption…As it currently stands, this proposed exemption would limit all imports from China to Chinese state-owned and subsidized companies. may inadvertently encourage the establishment of assembly facilities in the United States.
in that commentUSW pushed back against the idea that there was no domestic manufacturing capacity to meet the needs of the port program.
“Decades of flawed industrial policy have encouraged overseas production, thereby weakening U.S. manufacturing. Rebuilding domestic industry and fostering innovation requires ensuring long-term economic prosperity.” This requires sustained efforts and strategic investment.
“However, a lack of domestic manufacturing capacity is not a sufficient reason to justify broad ‘one-size-fits-all’ exemptions that disincentivize companies to invest in U.S. production.” It is important to develop a Buy America exemption framework that addresses …EPA should reconsider its “one-size-fits-all” approach and allow recipients to apply for exemptions tailored to specific projects and products. It is. This is consistent with Congress’ intent to apply Buy America in a limited manner to encourage investment in U.S. production and workers within each equipment category covered by the program. ”
in our own comments AAM told EPA that the proposed exemption “creates little incentive for companies to meaningfully invest in U.S. manufacturing capacity or hire workers, overlook domestic supply chains for component content, and It creates a new loophole for America.” And we believe that “countries like the People’s Republic of China (PRC), whose companies are supported by large state subsidies and often tied to the military, are not responsible for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles by U.S. taxpayers. “We will be in a position to benefit from freight transport.” Equipment, locomotives, and ships, including ocean-going ships and harbor vessels. ”
“If EPA believes a waiver is necessary, it should revoke the current waiver, prioritize eliminating loopholes, and propose new waivers that are shorter in duration and narrower in scope.” I have written. “EPA’s approach must recognize the unique challenges and opportunities of the supply chain for the wide variety of equipment that would be considered eligible technology under the Clean Ports Program.” Importantly, EPA also We need to expand the application of restrictions to countries of concern to ensure that they do not consolidate their dominance in these areas with the support of U.S. taxpayers.”
Application of Clean Ports Program deadline is May 28th. The agency plans to announce the award in December.
