# 2025-00713: Waiver of Buy America Requirements for the Pacific Island Territories and the Freely Associated States

2025-00713, Waiver of Buy America Requirements for the Pacific Island Territories and the Freely Associated States, is a Federal Register notice from an unnamed agency published 2025-01-15, effective 2025-01-10 (as of 2026-06-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00713
- As of: 2026-06-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-00713
- Title: Waiver of Buy America Requirements for the Pacific Island Territories and the Freely Associated States
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: unknown
- Citation: unknown
- Published: 2025-01-15
- Effective: 2025-01-10
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: no
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-06-08

## Summary

The Department of Transportation is waiving the Buy America rules for infrastructure projects in Pacific Island territories like Guam, CNMI, and American Samoa, plus the Freely Associated States. This means these places can use materials not made in the U.S. for five years, starting January 10, 2025. This change helps speed up projects and makes it easier to get federal money for building and repairs in these areas.

## Abstract

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is finalizing a general applicability public interest waiver of the requirements of section 70914(a) of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) and related domestic preference statutes administered by DOT and its Operating Administrations (OAs) for federal financial assistance awarded for infrastructure projects located in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and American Samoa, collectively referred to as the Pacific Island territories. The waiver would also apply to discretionary grant assistance provided by DOT to the Freely Associated States (the Republic of Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia) in the Pacific that is subject to a domestic preference statute (which does not include BABA, as that statute only applies to the United States and its territories). The waiver will remain in effect for five years after the effective date of the final waiver. This action also terminates the previously issued temporary general applicability waiver for this region.

## Effects PRIA read

- Five-year Buy America waiver for Pacific Islands: benefit, medium. DOT is waiving Buy America domestic-content requirements for federal infrastructure projects in the Pacific Island territories (CNMI, Guam, and American Samoa) and for discretionary DOT grants to the Freely Associated States (Palau, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia). The waiver lets…
- Certain critical items remain excluded: cost, low. The waiver does not cover a specified list of critical products: telecommunications equipment and related video surveillance hardware, broadcasting/radio-frequency devices, broadband physical components (fiber/coax, conduit, pedestals, handholes, tower structures), grid-connected utility-scale ener…
- Waiver applies to obligations and later expenditures: benefit, low. The waiver applies to DOT-administered awards obligated on or after January 10, 2025, and also applies to expenditures for non-domestic materials incurred after that date for awards obligated before January 10, 2025. DOT will periodically review the waiver and may terminate or modify it before Janu…

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## Sources
- [2025-00713 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/15/2025-00713/waiver-of-buy-america-requirements-for-the-pacific-island-territories-and-the-freely-associated)
- [2025-00713 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-01-15/pdf/2025-00713.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-00710, Draft National Recommended Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00710)
- [Next: 2025-00714, Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Re…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00714)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-00713 (as of 2026-06-08).