Question re. FAR for foreign acquisition (United Kingdom) under GWACs/NITAAC

[NewbieFed]

I am trying to procure a foreign made item (an IT/network data accelerator item made only in the UK) sold by American resellers under Government wide acquisition contracts (GWAC) such as the HHS/NIH's NITAAC. I am using a Brand Name justification under 16.5, so there are no real domestic competitor manufacturers.

I know I am supposed to use section 16.5 (IDIQs) as justification. Do I have to apply both justifications of how I can buy this product under the Buy American Act AND the WTO? 

For example:

Under FAR 25.103 Exceptions to the Buy American Act, section (e) states that IT that are commercial items are excepted.  "(e) Information technology that is a commercial item. The restriction on purchasing foreign end products does not apply to the acquisition of information technology that is a commercial item, when using fiscal year 2004 or subsequent fiscal year funds (Section 535(a) of Division F, Title V, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, and similar sections in subsequent appropriations acts)."

Under FAR 25.003, the UK is a designated country under the WTO and is a World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA).

This item exceeds the 182k required under 25.402 General.

FAR 25.401 Exceptions, subsection (b)(2) talks about data & telecommunications services excluded from coverage of the WTO GPA...but this is not applicable b/c the item is a supply and not a service.

 

So for my justification of how I can purchase this UK item, should I use FAR 25.103 and say this country is a designated WTO GPA under FAR 25.003? I've read that WTO-GPA and Buy American Act designations typically affect posting times for RFQs, but is that applicable for RFQs on IDIQs such as GWAC/NITAACs?

 

[ji20874]

newbie,

You can forget all of that -- that would all be important if you were crafting a new contract, but you are not -- you are simply placing an order under an existing contract.  That existing contract already has the appropriate Buy American, Trade Agreements, or WTO clauses -- this is determined at the parent contract level, not for each order.  You may reasonably expect that offers you receive from contract holders will be compliant with their parent contracts; if not, a competitor may raise the matter and then you can address it.  

[NewbieFed]

3 minutes ago, ji20874 said:

newbie,

You can forget all of that -- that would all be important if you were crafting a new contract, but you are not -- you are simply placing an order under an existing contract.  That existing contract already has the appropriate Buy American, Trade Agreements, or WTO clauses -- this is determined at the parent contract level, not for each order.  You may reasonably expect that offers you receive from contract holders will be compliant with their parent contracts; if not, a competitor may raise the matter and then you can address it.  

Way easier than I thought! Thank you very much.