2020 Defense Bill Provision on U.S. Purchases of BYD Electric Buses Comes Into Effect

As part of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 (the annual U.S. defense spending bill), which became law on December 20, 2019, there was a provision designed to restrict Chinese-owned companies from selling rail cars or buses to be used in U.S. transit. As Roll Call explained it at the time, the provision "would bar federal dollars from being used to purchase passenger rail cars or buses from state-owned or state-controlled enterprises, such as those from China." For most U.S. purchasers, there was a two-year delay on implementation. That time period has now come to an end.