Baldwin, Bipartisan Group Push for Final Implementation of Bill to Support Made in America Freight Railcars

WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Bob Casey (D-PA) expressed their support for the Federal Rail Administration’s (FRA) proposed rule to implement bipartisan legislation that supports Made in America freight rail and safeguards our national security against state-owned companies in countries like China. Senators Baldwin and Cornyn introduced the Stopping America's Foreign Enemies Through Rail And Infrastructure National Security Act (SAFE TRAINS Act) and successfully included it as an amendment to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.

“A significant threat to a strong U.S. transportation manufacturing sector and supply chains is the rise of predatory Chinese state-owned and-supported enterprises, which rely on government-subsidized, below-market pricing to drive legitimate competitors out of business,” wrote the Senators.

“The passage of the SAFE TRAINS Act and FRA’s subsequent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are critical steps toward supporting the continued viability and robustness of the domestic freight railcar manufacturing industry and, therefore, ensuring the safety of the North American rail system,” the Senators continued.

The rise of predatory Chinese state-owned and-supported enterprises has threatened the U.S. transportation manufacturing sector and supply chains in recent decades. The domestic freight railcar industry is a vital sector of our economy, supporting over 65,000 family-wage jobs and upwards of $6.5 billion in GDP. Freight rail is a crucial part of America’s critical infrastructure, transporting essential commodities like energy products, everyday goods, and military equipment.

In December, the FRA announced its proposal to advance the SAFE TRAINS Act and improve the safety and security of the U.S. freight rail industry by introducing crucial restrictions on newly built freight cars placed into service within the United States. Senator Baldwin expressed support for the proposed rule, which, in line with her legislation, would limit the use of sensitive technology or components that originate from a country of concern (COC) or are sourced from a state-owned enterprise (SOE) – including China – in freight rail cars running in the U.S.

“The full implementation by DOT of the Safe Trains Act will protect the jobs of American workers. Tens of thousands of our freight railcar manufacturers and suppliers support this effort by Senators Baldwin & Cornyn,” said Erik Robert Olson, Executive Director of Rail Security Alliance. “This legislation will protect America’s national and economic security from Chinese military companies like CRRC. Including the processors and microprocessors in the list of ‘active components’ goes the extra step to ensure that our domestic fleet of technology-driven rolling stock has the most robust safeguards in place.”

The full letter is available here and below.

Dear Administrator Bose:

We are writing in strong support of the proposed regulation to implement the Stopping America's Foreign Enemies Through Rail And Infrastructure National Security Act (SAFE TRAINS Act; 49 U.S.C. § 20171). We commend the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for prioritizing this critical rulemaking in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Freight Car Safety Standards to implement certain provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Docket No. FRA-2023-0021). Included in Section 22425 of IIJA, this bipartisan legislation safeguards the North American freight rail industry and critical rail infrastructure from adversarial state-owned enterprises.

The domestic freight railcar industry is a vital sector of our economy, supporting over 65,000 family-wage jobs and upwards of $6.5 billion in GDP. Further, freight rail is a crucial part of America’s critical infrastructure. Essential commodities, energy products, everyday goods, and military equipment, among other things, are safely and efficiently moved by rail daily.

A significant threat to a strong U.S. transportation manufacturing sector and supply chains is the rise of predatory Chinese state-owned and-supported enterprises, which rely on government-subsidized, below-market pricing to drive legitimate competitors out of business. Over the past decade, the Chinese state-owned rail enterprise CRRC Corporation Limited (CRRC) has pursued a singular goal of displacing those same U.S. companies and dominating railcar manufacturing in the United States and around the world. This CCP-directed $35 billion company has made aggressive and alarming inroads into the U.S. by using anti-competitive tactics to infiltrate domestic railcar manufacturing, wiping out American manufacturing in the process. The passage of the legislation and FRA’s subsequent NPRM are critical steps toward supporting the continued viability and robustness of the domestic freight railcar manufacturing industry and, therefore, ensuring the safety of the North American rail system.

While finalizing the rulemaking for the SAFE TRAINS Act safeguards the North American freight railcar industry for the benefit of the American people, FRA should consider several proposals outlined below that align with the congressional intent of the law as passed.

We encourage FRA to include its interpretation of “active components” to expressly include microprocessors, short range wireless processors, and long-range wireless processors, given the central importance of these components in wireless sensor devices. In addition, we understand FRA’s justification for interpreting the sensitive technology provision of the Act to apply only at the time of manufacture and appreciate FRA’s desire to strike the appropriate balance between enhancing the safety and security of the U.S. railway system while minimizing the burden to industry and to FRA.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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