Congress moving closer to banning railcar purchases from Chinese companies
Written by David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief
MWAA
A little more than a month ago, RT&S ran Railway Age Editor-in-Chief Bill Vantuono’s story on concerns about the Chinese government subsidizing its companies engaged in building railcars for transit agencies, which threatens the solvency of American railcar builders. To read Bill’s report, please click here.
Today, Politico is reporting that Congress is working on a defense bill that includes, according to the accompanying conference report, a provision that would prohibit the purchase of buses or railcars from Chinese-owned or subsidized companies with federal funds. Transit organizations that use funds of their own to purchase buses or railcars from a Chinese company would be penalized. The ban would be effective immediately for the Washington Metropolitan Area TransitAuthority (WMATA, or Metro) because that agency, which serves the greater Washington, D.C. metro area, has been negotiating a contract with CRCC, the Chinese rail car builder. For other agencies, the bill would not go into effect for two years.
Congress is expected to pass the bill, and President Trump is expected to sign it.
For more information on this legislation, click here.
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