Government Contracts Blog : Government Contracts Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Bids, Licenses, Awards, Conflict of Interest.

Effective January 1, 2010, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Ronald Kirk, published new dollar thresholds determining the applicability of the Buy American Act (BAA), the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), and (potentially) other "Buy American" preferences to the United States' various international free trade agreements. See 74 Federal Register 68907 (December 29, 2009). The changes to the dollar thresholds are effective through the end of 2011, so it is doubtful that we will see any additional escalation until 2012. 
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

In early July, we discussed that fact that Taiwan would soon be an approved country of origin for purposes of the Trade Agreements Act.  This was, in our view, good news and a welcome development.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

On June 16, 2009, Taiwan (aka Chinese Taipei) took the penultimate step in acceding to the World Trade Organization's Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA), which will eventually grant Taiwan "free trade partner" status under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and allow companies selling to the U.S. Government to deliver products that are manufactured in Taiwan. The accession process is expected to be complete by July 15, 2009. After that date, and once the FAR is updated accordingly, "Made in Taiwan" will finally be an approved country of origin for products and services delivered to the U.S. Government.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

On March 31, 2009, the FAR Councils issued several new interim rules (effective March 31, 2009) implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) (also known as ARRA, The Recovery Act, or the Stimulus Act). See Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-32, published at 74 Federal Register 14621-14652. The FAC issued new interim rules on a number of areas required under the Stimulus Act, including:

• Reporting Requirements for Recipients of Recovery Funds (see 74 Federal Register 14639) 
   
• Publicizing Contract Actions (see 74 Federal Register 14636) 
   
• GAO and IG Access to Company Employees (see 74 Federal Register 14646) 
   
• Whistleblower Protections (see 74 Federal Register 14633) 
   
• Buy American Requirements for Construction Materials (see 74 Federal Register 14623)
   

This blog focuses on the final three sets of rules – those relating to Auditor access; Whistleblower protections; and Buy American requirements. The first set of rules is discussed separately here.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

On January 15, 2009, the Government issued a final rule adjusting the dollar thresholds at which the Trade Agreements Act ("TAA") applies to U.S. Government procurements.  See 74 Federal Register 2745.  The changes were originally enacted as an interim rule in February 2008 (see 73 Federal Register 10962 and 73 Federal Register 16747; see also 72 Federal Register 71166; 72 Federal Register 73904), raising the threshold to account for inflation from $193,000 to $194,000 for most procurements involving countries that have agreed to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement ("WTO GPA").  For other Free Trade Agreements ("FTAs") with countries such as Australia, Mexico, and Singapore, the threshold is raised from $64,786 to $67,826.  Details on the application of the TAA and the revised thresholds are outlined in FAR Subpart 25.4.
 

• Email This
• Print
• Comments

On January 15, 2009, the FAR Councils issued the final rule on the purchase of commercial-off-the-shelf ("COTS") products, adding a new section to the FAR to be effective on February 17, 2009.  See 74 Federal Register 2713.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments