Issue 112

TIAPAC in Kentucky

Last week, the TIA Political Action Committee (TIAPAC) headed to Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Club at Olde Stone to celebrate the growing success of the PAC and the continued mission of educating TIA members about the PAC and why it is so important to TIA members and the 3PL industry as a whole.

The TIAPAC is growing, but there is work to be done. With only 5% of TIA member companies being involved with the PAC, it is vital for the industry’s future success to grow that number and increase participation. All contributions fundraised go 100% towards 3PL-friendly members of Congress and their political campaigns.

TIA looks forward to continuing the maturation of its already successful PAC and using it as a mechanism to educate Congress on the burdens our industry faces each day.

NDAA Report Language

Last week, The House Armed Services Committee held a markup for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). TIA is proud to say that its ask to investigate foreign dispatch services and their involvement in sensitive DOD freight was included in the report language. The exact language of the bill is below:

The committee is concerned by the unlicensed transportation dispatch services that are based outside of the United States that are utilized in the shipping of sensitive and critical Department of Defense Freight. This represents a potential vulnerability in the defense supply chain that could be exploited by adversaries in the event of a conflict. Foreign dispatch services do not operate under the same oversight and cybersecurity regulations of those domiciled within the United States, making them more susceptible to foreign interference and influence. Furthermore, the committee is concerned that the locations of all dispatch offices through which defense-related freight is dispatched is not a datapoint collected by the Department.

Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the House Committee on Armed Services not later than February 1, 2024, on the Department’s use of foreign dispatch services for critical defense freight and the implications of instituting stricter dispatch service regulations. The report shall include the following:

A list of all transportation dispatch services domiciled outside of the United States that are used in shipping what the Secretary deems to be sensitive or critical freight;
Vulnerabilities of foreign dispatch services and threats posed to such services by malign foreign actors;
An assessment of the impacts on the Department’s ability to quickly mobilize and ship critical military freight using solely American dispatch services; and
Any other information the Secretary of Defense Considers appropriate.

Volkswagen Qualifies for EV tax credit

The first non-American car company to qualify for the Biden Administration’s electric vehicle (EV) tax credits is officially Volkswagen. This tax credit is one tool the Biden Administration has used to incentivize the purchase of EVs as opposed to fossil-fueled cars.

The news comes just a couple days after the White House released a list of qualifying cars that was almost exclusively American-made automobiles. The hopes are that the Volkswagen news eases some of the trade tensions over EV tax credit qualifications for foreign made cars.

Volkswagen expected its ID.4 model to fully qualify for the tax credit ($7,500.00) but noted it remained in a standstill until the proper documentation from its battery supplier arrived to then be submitted to the Treasury Department.

It is expected that other car companies will adapt to meet the requirements for EV tax credits. TIA will keep you updated as needed.

If you have any questions about this newsletter or TIA 2023
Policy Forum, please email advocacy@tianet.org

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