### Subpart 25.4- Trade Agreements

## 25.400 Scope of subpart.

(a) This subpart provides policies and procedures applicable to acquisitions that are subject to-

(1) The Trade Agreements Act (the Agreement on Government Procurement, as approved by Congress in the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. 2501, et seq.), and as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Pub. L. 103-465));
(2) The Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative (the determination of the U.S. Trade Representative that end products granted duty-free entry from countries designated by the President as beneficiaries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2701, et seq.), with the exception of the Dominican Republic and Panama, must be treated as eligible products under the Trade Agreements Act);
(3) NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement, as approved by Congress in the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act of 1993 (19 U.S.C. 3301 note));
(4) The Israeli Trade Act (the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Area Agreement, as approved by Congress in the United States-Israel Free Trade Area Implementation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 2112 note)); or
(5) The Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft (U.S. Trade Representative waiver of the Buy American Act for signatories of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, as implemented in the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. 2513)).

(b) For application of the trade agreements that are unique to individual agencies, see agency regulations.

## 25.401 Exceptions.

(a) This subpart does not apply to-

(1) Acquisitions set aside for small businesses;
(2) Acquisitions of arms, ammunition, or war materials, or purchases indispensable for national security or for national defense purposes, including all services purchased in support of military forces located overseas;
(3) Acquisitions of end products for resale;
(4) Acquisitions under Subpart 8.6, Acquisition from Federal Prison Industries, Inc., and Subpart 8.7, Acquisition from Nonprofit Agencies Employing People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled;
(5) Other acquisitions not using full and open competition, if authorized by Subpart 6.2 or 6.3, when the limitation of competition would preclude use of the procedures of this subpart (but see 6.303-1(d)); or sole source acquisitions justified in accordance with 13.501(a); and
(6) Acquisitions of the following excluded services:

(i) Automatic data processing (ADP) telecommunications and transmission services, except enhanced (i.e., value-added) telecommunications services.
(ii) Research and development.
(iii) Transportation services (including launching services, but not including travel agent services).
(iv) Utility services.

(b)(1) Other services not covered by the Trade Agreements Act are-

(i) Dredging; and
(ii) Management and operation contracts to certain Government or privately owned facilities used for Government purposes, including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs).

(2) Other services not covered by NAFTA are-

(i) ADP teleprocessing and timesharing services (D305), telecommunications network management services (D316), automated news services, data services or other information services (D317), and other ADP and telecommunications services (D399) (Federal Service Code from the Federal Procurement Data System Product/Service Code Manual indicated in parentheses);
(ii) Operation of all facilities by the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, or the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and all Government-owned research and development facilities or Government-owned environmental laboratories;
(iii) Maintenance, repair, modification, rebuilding and installation of equipment related to ships; and
(iv) Nonnuclear ship repair.

## 25.402 General.

The trade agreements waive the applicability of the Buy American Act for some foreign supplies and construction materials from certain countries. The Trade Agreements Act and NAFTA specify procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness. The value of the acquisition is a determining factor in the applicability of the trade agreements. When the restrictions of the Buy American Act are waived for eligible products, offers of those products (eligible offers) receive equal consideration with domestic offers. Under the Trade Agreements Act, only U.S.-made end products or eligible products may be acquired (also see 25.403(c)). See Subpart 25.5 for evaluation procedures for supply contracts subject to trade agreements.

## 25.403 Trade Agreements Act.

(a) General. The Agreement on Government Procurement of the Trade Agreements Act-

(1) Waives application of the Buy American Act to the end products and construction materials of designated countries;
(2) Prohibits discriminatory practices based on foreign ownership;
(3) Restricts purchases to end products identified in 25.403(c);
(4) Requires certain procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness (see 25.408).

(b) Thresholds.

(1) Except as provided in 25.401, the Trade Agreements Act applies to an acquisition for supplies or services if the estimated value of the acquisition is $169,000 or more; the Trade Agreements Act applies to an acquisition for construction if the estimated value of the acquisition is $6,481,000 or more. These dollar thresholds are subject to revision by the U.S. Trade Representative approximately every 2 years (see Executive Order 12260).
(2) To determine whether the Trade Agreements Act applies to the acquisition of products by lease, rental, or lease-purchase contract (including lease-to-ownership, or lease-with-option-to purchase), calculate the estimated acquisition value as follows:

(i) If a fixed-term contract of 12 months or less is contemplated, use the total estimated value of the acquisition.
(ii) If a fixed-term contract of more than 12 months is contemplated, use the total estimated value of the acquisition plus the estimated residual value of the leased equipment at the conclusion of the contemplated term of the contract.
(iii) If an indefinite-term contract is contemplated, use the estimated monthly payment multiplied by the total number of months that ordering would be possible under the proposed contract, i.e., the initial ordering period plus any optional ordering periods.
(iv) If there is any doubt as to the contemplated term of the contract, use the estimated monthly payment multiplied by 48.

(3) The estimated value includes the value of all options.
(4) If, in any 12-month period, recurring or multiple awards for the same type of product or products are anticipated, use the total estimated value of these projected awards to determine whether the Trade Agreements Act applies. Do not divide any acquisition with the intent of reducing the estimated value of the acquisition below the dollar threshold of the Trade Agreements Act.

(c) Purchase restriction.

(1) In acquisitions subject to the Trade Agreements Act, acquire only U.S.-made end products or eligible products (designated, Caribbean Basin, or NAFTA country end products) unless offers for such end products are either not received or are insufficient to fulfill the requirements.
(2) This restriction does not apply to purchases by the Department of Defense from a country with which it has entered into a reciprocal agreement, as provided in departmental regulations.

## 25.404 Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative.

Under the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative, the United States Trade Representative has determined that, for acquisitions subject to the Trade Agreements Act, Caribbean Basin country end products must be treated as eligible products.

## 25.405 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

(a) An acquisition of supplies is not subject to NAFTA if the estimated value of the acquisition is less than $25,000. For acquisitions subject to NAFTA, evaluate offers of NAFTA country end products without regard to the restrictions of the Buy American Act, except that for acquisitions with an estimated value of less than $56,190, only Canadian end products are eligible products. Eligible products from NAFTA countries are entitled to the nondiscriminatory treatment of the Trade Agreements Act. NAFTA does not prohibit the purchase of other foreign end products.
(b) NAFTA applies to construction materials if the estimated value of the construction contract is $7,304,733 or more.
(c) The procedures in 25.408 apply to the acquisition of NAFTA country services, other than services identified in 25.401. NAFTA country services are services provided by a firm established in a NAFTA country under service contracts with an estimated acquisition value of $56,190 or more ($7,304,733 or more for construction).

## 25.406 Israeli Trade Act.

Acquisitions of supplies by most agencies are subject to the Israeli Trade Act, if the estimated value of the acquisition is $50,000 or more but does not exceed the Trade Agreements Act threshold for supplies (see 25.403(b)(1)). Agencies other than the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior, the Federal Housing Finance Board, and the Office of Thrift Supervision must evaluate offers of Israeli end products without regard to the restrictions of the Buy American Act. The Israeli Trade Act does not prohibit the purchase of other foreign end products.

## 25.407 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft.

Under the authority of Section 303 of the Trade Agreements Act, the U.S. Trade Representative has waived the Buy American Act for civil aircraft and related articles, that meet the substantial transformation test of the Trade Agreements Act, from countries that are parties to the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. Those countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Macao, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

## 25.408 Procedures.

(a) If the Trade Agreements Act or NAFTA applies (see 25.401), the contracting officer must-

(1) Comply with the requirements of 5.203, Publicizing and response time;
(2) Comply with the requirements of 5.207, Preparation and Transmittal of Synopses, including the appropriate "Numbered Note" (5.207(e)(2)) for contracts that are subject to the Trade Agreements Act;
(3) Not include technical requirements in solicitations solely to preclude the acquisition of eligible products;
(4) Specify in solicitations that offerors must submit offers in the English language and in U.S. dollars (see 52.214-34, Submission of Offers in the English Language, and 52.214-35, Submission of Offers in U.S. Currency, or paragraph (c)(5) of 52.215-1, Instruction to Offerors-Competitive Acquisitions); and
(5) Provide unsuccessful offerors from designated or NAFTA countries notice in accordance with 14.409-1 or 15.503.

(b) See Subpart 25.5 for evaluation procedures and examples.