The Department of Transportation has issued a final rule that will place the following restrictions on newly-built freight cars placed into service in the U.S. Most of these restrictions will take effect Dec. 19, 2025.
- Any railroad freight car to be operated on the U.S. general railroad system must be manufactured, assembled, and substantially transformed in a qualified facility by a qualified manufacturer.
- Newly-manufactured railroad freight cars may not operate on the U.S. general railroad system if more than 20 percent (declining to 15 percent after three years) of their content originates from a country of concern or is sourced from a state-owned enterprise. (China is the only country that currently meets all three of the criteria for being a COC: (1) identified as a non-market economy country, (2) named on the priority watch list of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s most recent intellectual property rights report, and (3) subject to monitoring by USTR under Section 306 of the 1974 Trade Act.)
- Sensitive technology and any essential components of that technology in a railroad freight car may not originate from a COC or be sourced from an SOE.
- Railroad freight cars may not include any content from a COC or SOE that has been determined to have violated or infringed the valid U.S. intellectual property rights of another.
- Manufacturers must certify that each railroad freight car complies with these standards before it is placed into service in the U.S. and must maintain detailed records to support their certifications.
The DOT notes that noncompliance with the new rules can result in civil penalties as well as manufacturers being prohibited from supplying freight cars to the U.S. rail system.
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