TIA has written to both the Senate and House appropriations subcommittees with jurisdiction over transportation recommending that the committees continue to provide funding for highways (including bridges) above levels authorized in the new infrastructure law. In addition, in May TIA met with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and stressed the importance of additional appropriations for highways.
Underscoring the importance of advocacy, the Administration recommended no funding for highways above authorized levels (in fact, the budget request was 2.4 billion dollars less than FY 2022) but an increase above authorized levels for rail and transit.
House subcommittee and full committee markups in June are possible but could be delayed by the absence of a bipartisan agreement on overall funding levels. Senate markups are not expected in June.
It was recently announced that tariffs on OTR Tires from India will remain.
Five years after the implementation of tariffs on off-the-road tires from India, the U.S. Department of Commerce says it is maintaining the rates set in 2017.
As a result of this expedited sunset review, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) finds that revocation of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain pneumatic off the-road tires (off-road tires) from India would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of countervailable subsidies at the levels indicated in the ‘‘Final Results of Sunset Review’’ section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Alexander, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–4313.
Click here to view the full notice.
To some extent, the proposal seems to have lost momentum as Democrats have instead favored legislation that would regulate fuel prices. However, given the importance of both the “user pay” principle and revenue for the Highway Trust Fund, TIA will remain vigilant on this issue.
USDOT and FHWA are regularly releasing guidance on aspects of the new infrastructure law and are inviting applications for various discretionary funds. TIA has been closely monitoring these developments since the law was enacted and commenting as appropriate.
Also expected soon is additional USDOT-DOE guidance regarding electric vehicle charging and also a possible USDOT-FHWA proposed rule regarding reducing emissions of CO2 and possibly other greenhouse gasses. Further, CEQ may soon release a proposed rule to further amend the NEPA review process, likely as to how NEPA review is to consider GHG emissions.