Sometimes who is speaking tells you as much as what is said. The Federal Register for April 25, 2025, carried a Notice of Request for Public Comments (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/25/2025-07260/notice-of-request-for-public-comments-on-section-232-national-security-investigation-of-imports-of), seeking input on:
- The current and projected demand for trucks and truck parts in the United States;
- The extent to which domestic production of trucks and truck parts can meet domestic demand;
- The role of foreign supply chains, particularly of major exporters, in meeting United States demand for trucks and truck parts;
- The concentration of United States imports of trucks and truck parts from a small number of suppliers and the associated risks;
- The impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices on the competitiveness of the medium- and heavy-duty truck industry in the United States;
- The economic impact of artificially suppressed prices of trucks and truck parts due to foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overproduction;
- The potential for export restrictions by foreign nations, including the ability of foreign nations to weaponize their control over supplies of trucks and truck parts;
- The feasibility of increasing domestic capacity for trucks and truck parts to reduce import reliance;
- The impact of current trade policies on domestic production of trucks and truck parts, and whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security; and
- Any other relevant factors.
At first glance, the questions may suggest federal preparation for trade agreements and tariffs. And those may become a tangential result. But the agency speaking here is the Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Department of Commerce. PrePass readers heard from the Bureau this January (https://www.prepassalliance.org/trucking-things-to-know-part-15/).
At that time the Bureau proposed a ban on connected vehicle technology originating in or controlled by China (including Hong Kong), the Russian Federation, and other “foreign adversaries,” but specifically excluded medium- and heavy-duty trucks — despite acknowledging that “commercial vehicles face the same threats from ICTS (Information and Communications Technology Services) originating in adversarial nations” as other vehicles. Now the Bureau is gathering data to determine the national security effects of imported trucks and truck parts.
If you have information to share with the Bureau, comments to the Docket are due by May 16, 2025.
But here is something to remember right now:
All PrePass technologies, software and data systems are produced and manufactured right here in America by trusted employees and partners. Similarly, PrePass protects customer identities, dates and times when their trucks utilize PrePass for weigh station bypass. You are nationally secure with PrePass.