TheBuyAmericanAct-DepartmentofCommerce.pptVIP

The Buy American Act Congress passed the Buy American Act (BAA) in 1933 to encourage purchases of American-made goods by the Federal Government. The act was altered significantly in 1979 when Congress passed the Trade Agreements Act (TAA). The BAA applies to acquisitions over the micro-purchase threshold of $3,000. When it applies, the Buy American Act does not stop a federal agency from purchasing a foreign product. Trade Agreements Act Congress passed the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) in 1979 to meet certain requirements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The TAA gave the President the authority to waive the BAA requirements for certain procurements and that waiver authority was delegated by the President to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The USTR has waived the BAA for eligible products in acquisitions covered by various trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA, which includes 39 countries, including, most recently, Taiwan), North American Free Trade Agreement, and the Israeli Trade Agreement Act, etc. Clearing up the Terminology Confusion Definitions are in FAR 25.003 · BAA – “Domestic End Product” · TAA – “U.S.-made end product” and “Designated Country end product” · BAA “Exception” vs. “Exemption” from BAA (or “Waiver” of BAA) BAA – “Domestic End Product”: A domestic end-product is one that is (1) an unmanufactured end product mined or produced in the U.S.; or (2) an end product manufactured in the U.S. if it is composed of at least 50 percent U.S.-made component. Component is “an article, material, or supply incorporated directly into an end product or construction material”. FAR 25.003. Details on the Terminology TAA – “U.S.-made end product”: an article mined, produced or manufactured in the US or that is substantially transformed in the US into a new and different article of commerce with a name, character or use distinct from th