WASHINGTON—The Federal Transit Administration and the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology have announced an interagency agreement to identify domestically made products for mass transit, both agencies announced.
The agreement will help the FTA comply with its "Buy America" rules requiring that at least 60 percent of the components it buys are made in the U.S., the agencies said. It also will foster a growing network of U.S. equipment manufacturers and potential suppliers, they said.
"Through 'Buy America,' FTA helps to ensure that transit vans, buses, streetcars and rail cars funded with taxpayer dollars are built in the U.S. using American-made materials and labor," the agencies said in a press release.
The "Buy America" initiative has already been highly successful, according to FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. Equipment suppliers to the agency requested only three waivers of the Buy America requirement in 2012, down from 37 in 2008, Rogoff said.
Further details about the agreement were not available, because of the government shutdown beginning Oct. 1.