ZETA submitted a comment urging the federal government to implement a waiver or exemption for EV and EV supply equipment manufacturers for the FAR Act’s Buy American requirements—at least until the upstream supply chain is more robust. ZETA asserted that creating a waiver or exemption will ensure that the federal government can reduce its emissions and support domestic manufacturing without implementing a mandate that would foreclose the possibility of any competitive contracts with the nation’s best EV manufacturers. An increased market share or production volume will help create a reliable EV and EVSE supply chain, but EV and EVSE manufacturers have not met that market share or volume threshold. ZETA also noted that a swift localization of the supply chain may not be able to take place soon enough to meet this regulation’s requirements. Once the upstream supply chain is stable, a gradual ramp-up of domestic content requirements may be appropriate. Full text here.
