Fara Fasat Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 This question came up in a longer thread on the Buy American Act (BAA), but was never answered. I'm reviving it here under its own thread. DoD only applies the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) to certain listed Federal Supply Groups (FSGs). If a product is not on the listed FSG, the TAA does not apply and the BAA will. That means that all products must be domestic unless an exception applies. A GSA contract is subject to the TAA because all GSA contract are assumed to be over the TAA threshold. That means that products can be made in the US or designated countries. Question: can a DoD buyer buy a non-listed FSG product from a GSA contract? If the product is in a non-listed FSG, DoD does not apply the TAA, so it should be giving a preference to domestic products. Yet products on a GSA contract will also be from TAA countries. In such a case, can a DoD buyer buy a non-listed product off a GSA contract, or must the buyer conduct a separate acquisition for these products and not use the GSA? Are there any government buyers on this forum who have used a GSA contract for non-listed FSGs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Mansfield Posted November 12, 2015 Report Share Posted November 12, 2015 I think the procedure would be to include DFARS 252.225-7001 in the delivery order. DPAP issued a memo recently pertaining to use of FSS contracts. Take a look at the first bullet on the second page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fara Fasat Posted November 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Don, thanks, but my question isn't about what clauses to add to a GSA order. It's about whether DoD can buy a product from a GSA contract that it wouldn't be able to if it were conducting a separate acquisition. Here's the problem: DoD only applies the TAA to certain FSGs; a GSA contract applies the TAA to all products. That means that the GSA schedules are filled with products that DoD wouldn't be buying if it conducted a separate, non-GSA acquisition, because those products are not made in the US or qualifying countries. So what is the DoD practice? If the product is not in one of the listed FSGs, does the buyer have to forego using the GSA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzy Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 Unless I'm missing something, I think Don answered your question by pointing you to the first bullet in the Memo on FSS Contracts. If you have an FSG that is excluded from TAA compliance, and the statutory requirements for country of origin defaults to BAA given the dollar threshold, then you would add DoD specific clauses to your GSA solicitation that states the BAA requirements. This will exclude schedule items that are not BAA compliant, or Berry Act compliant, or whatever it is you are procuring. I guess I'm not following the question. Do you have internal policy guidance that restricts you from issuing an RFQ against schedule for items if all of the items are subject to Buy American, rather than Trade Agreement? Is it permissible to go to GSA if only some of your FSGs are only subject to TAA? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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