Purchases Below Micro-Purchase Threshold and Buying from China

[MegB]

The office (Army) that I am in seems to be a little confused as how to handle purchasing supplies manufactured in China under the micro-purchase threshold (MPT). To be specific, purchases for supplies that are not found on a GSA schedule and made with a Government Purchase Card (GPC).

From what I have found it seems to me that we can purchase supplies from any country, even China, if it is under the MPT and not on a GSA schedule. The Buy American Act (BAA) is for purchases above the MPT (25.100((1)) and the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) is for purchases of supplies above the range of $25,000 to $202,000 (25.402() depending on the Trade Agreement.

I think where we get confused is because we mostly purchase from GSA schedules and no matter what the dollar value is of the purchase, all schedule holders shall comply with the TAA. http://www.gsa.gov/p.../content/200369 "Since the estimated dollar value of each Schedule exceeds the established Trade Agreements Act (TAA) threshold, the TAA is applicable to all Schedules. In accordance with the TAA, only U.S.-made or designated country end products shall be offered and sold under Schedule contracts.”

Am I missing something? Am I right to say that if we are buying a supply under the MPT that is not on a GSA schedule, the supply can be manufactured in China? Any information on this is very helpful.

The GPC coordinator in our office has taken this issue up to his superiors and it is as if no one wants to answer this question honestly. No one wants to put their name on a decision. He has even heard that some are allowing GSA schedule holders to offer China-made items under the MPT even though GSA has stated that “the TAA is applicable to all Schedules”.

[Desparado]

GSA routinely removes products from their Schedules when they discover that the items are not TAA compliant. With over 19,000 companies and millions of products, the COs cannot police every item, and rely on self-certification from the contractors. In many cases the contractors don't even know the country of origin as they receive the items from their suppliers. There are plenty of helpful citizens that bring these items to GSA's attention and when that is done, they get the products removed.

As far as your basic question goes, I believe your interpretation of the FAR is correct, and that for micro-purchases the BAA and TAA do not apply.

[ji20874]

MegB,

Are you aware of any proclamation, Executive Order, or statute that prohibits the use of micropurchase procedures for the purchase of supplies made in China solely because they're made in China? I don't see anything of this sort in FAR Subpart 25.7, Prohibited Sources.

I also don't see that there is a decision for anyone's superiors to make -- decsions about whether cardholders may make supply purchases of made-in China products are made by the President and/or the Congress, not by first- or second-level supervisors in Executive Department offices.

I can't speak to the matter of made-in-China products on GSA schedules.

[outsidelegalguy]

For DoD, DFARS 225.770 prohibits purchase of items covered by the United States Munitions List from Communist Chinese military companies (and many companies in China would be covered by the defintion of that term). Other than that, if the BAA or TAA don't apply, I know of no prohibition on purchasing something from China. Indeed, the need to have this specific DFARS provision suggests that there isn't some over-riding prohibition -- if there was, you wouldn't need DFARS 225.770.

GSA takes the position that sales under its FSS contracts will exceed the TAA threshhold and, thus, it includes the TAA clause in them. I've never seen any GSA FSS contract provision saying that you can make a "micropurchase" off a GSA schedule and purchase something from China. Such an item shouldn't be on the schedule.