New The Navy also contends that, in any event, the agency was not required to provide Sea Box with the Buy American Act preference because of Hyundai’s intervening quotation of an eligible end product. Specifically, the Navy cites FAR § 25.502(c)(3), which provides that if the low offer is a noneligible offer and there is an eligible offer that is lower in price than the lowest domestic end item, then award is made to the lower priced eligible offer without application of the preference.

Sea Box responds that Hyundai’s quotation could not be considered in the agency’s Buy American Act analysis under FAR § 25.502(c)(3), because Hyundai’s quotation was not technically acceptable. Specifically, Sea Box states that, contrary to the criteria set forth in the RFQ, Hyundai provided no technical information, commercial literature, or other data to show that the end product in its quotation satisfied the identified configuration changes, including minimum interior dimensions. Comments at 12.

The Navy argues that Hyundai’s quotation was technically acceptable, because, although the firm did not provide the requested information, Hyundai did not take exception to any of the requirements. Contracting Officer’s Statement at 19. The Navy contends, citing Pacific Lock Co., B-405800, Dec. 27, 2011, 2011 CPD ¶ 286, that an agency may properly rely upon a vendor’s representation that it will furnish products that comply with the RFQ’s requirements. Id. We disagree.

Here, the RFQ sought quotations for TRICON II containers with numerous configuration changes, including specific minimum interior measurements. RFQ at 7. Vendors were specifically required to provide information demonstrating that the vendor’s quotation would satisfy these requirements. In this regard, the RFQ stated that failure to meet the minimum technical requirements would render a quotation technically unacceptable. Id. at 8. The RFQ also stated that proposals failing to meet these requirements would not be further evaluated. Id. We have found that where an RFQ contains such requirements, blanket statements of compliance without submission of requested technical information is insufficient to show compliance with identified requirements. See ProMar; Urethane Prods. Corp., B-292409 et al., Aug. 25, 2003, 2003 CPD ¶ 187 at 7; see also Koehring Cranes & Excavators; Komatsu Dresser Co., B-245731.2, B-245731.3, Nov. 23, 1992, 92-2 CPD ¶ 362 at 7.

Furthermore, the Navy’s reliance on our Pacific Lock decision is misplaced. In Pacific Lock, we recognized that an agency may rely upon a vendor’s affirmative certification that it would provide a domestic part, where the solicitation only required such a certification, absent some reason to question the certification. Here, the RFQ required vendors to demonstrate their technical compliance, which Hyundai did not do. Moreover, Hyundai made no affirmative representations concerning the compliance of its product.

In short, the record does not support the Navy’s determination that Hyundai’s quotation was technically acceptable. Accordingly, Hyundai’s quotation should not have been considered an intervening eligible quotation in the agency’s determination under FAR § 25.502(c)(3) that Sea Box’s quotation was not entitled to a Buy American Act preference. Applying the Buy American Act preference here would increase Caru’s evaluated price to $238,050 ($158,700 plus the 50 percent evaluation preference). See Contracting Officer’s Statement at 18-19. Thus, under this analysis, Sea Box should have been found to have submitted the lowest-priced, technically acceptable quotation.  (Sea Box, Inc., B-405711.2, Mar 19, 2012)  (pdf)

PDS asserts that the award to Caribe was improper because Caribe will not supply eyeglasses that meet the definition of a domestic end item. The award was proper. Under the terms of the provisions incorporated into the solicitation, offerors that did not take exception to the domestic end item requirement by listing foreign end products were certifying that they would comply with the Act’s domestic product requirements. The solicitation did not require any separate certification document unless the offer was not submitted on SF 1449. Therefore, Caribe’s signed offer on SF 1449 indicated its intention to supply a domestic end item, and obligated the firm to comply with the requirement. Continental Forest Products, Inc., B-217548, Mar. 19, 1985, 85-1 CPD para. 324 at 4. It follows that the agency properly accepted the offer for award. PDS maintains that VA should have investigated whether Caribe intended to supply a domestic end item, since PDS advised VA in a letter dated August 25, 2005 that several offerors under the solicitation would violate the Act. Letter from PDS to VA (Aug. 25, 2005), at 1-2. This argument is without merit. The contracting officer states that he was unaware of the letter in August (he states that he subsequently found the letter in his records), and thus had no reason to question any offeror’s compliance with the Act. In any case, the letter did not specifically identify Caribe (or any other offeror) as a firm PDS believed would not supply a domestic end item. Thus, even if we would otherwise consider information from one offeror sufficient to impose on an agency an obligation to investigate another offeror’s compliance with the Act, it is clear that the agency here had no such obligation because it did not have any information, or reason to believe, that Caribe would not furnish a domestic end product. We conclude that the agency reasonably relied upon Caribe’s self‑certification, without further investigation. Intermagnetics Gen. Corp., B‑255741.2, B-255741.3, May 10, 1994, 94‑1 CPD para. 302. (PDS Consultants, Inc., B-297890, April 4, 2006) (pdf)

For manufactured end products, the FAR uses a two-part test to define a domestic end product: (1) the article must be manufactured in the United States, and (2) the cost of domestic components ( i.e. , components mined, produced, or manufactured in the U.S.) must exceed 50 percent of the cost of all components. FAR Sections 25.003 and 25.101; see also DFARS Section 225.101. The FAR defines "component" as an article, material, or supply incorporated directly into an end product. FAR Section 25.003. The protester contends that it satisfies both prongs of the test and that its end product therefore qualifies as a domestic end product. In this regard, the protester argues that it proposes to import a raw material from [deleted] and then modify it through a series of processes (which the protester does not define). According to the protester, these processes yield a "processed mixture," which is the only component of the end product. It then subjects the "processed mixture" to an "end product manufacturing process," which consists of "sifting and selecting the contract compliant material." Protest at 7. In cases involving an end product derived from a single component or material, we have looked to whether the component/material has undergone substantial changes in physical character in determining whether manufacturing has occurred. A. Hirsh, Inc. , B-237466, Feb. 28, 1990, 90-1 CPD paragraph 247 at 3; 45 Comp. Gen. 658 (1966). See also General Kinetics, Inc., Cryptek Div. , B-242052.2, May 7, 1991, 91-1 CPD paragraph 445 (where we looked at whether the "essential nature" of the core component of the end product was altered in determining whether manufacturing had occurred). Further, since the BAA requires both that the end product have been manufactured in the U.S. and that the cost of components mined, produced, or manufactured in the U.S. exceed 50 percent of the cost of all components, where it is alleged that a foreign material has been manufactured into a component domestically and the component in turn manufactured into an end item domestically, we have also looked at whether the manufacturing process consists of two distinct phases, the first yielding a component that is distinguishable from the original material and the second yielding an end item that is distinguishable from the component. Davis Walker Corp., B-184672, Aug. 23, 1976, 76-2 CPD paragraph 182 at 4-6; 45 Comp. Gen. 658. Where the original material is of foreign origin and we have failed to find two distinct manufacturing phases yielding two distinct products, we have found noncompliance with the two-pronged test for defining a domestic end product. 48 Comp. Gen. 727 (1969); 46 Comp. Gen. 784 (1967). To prevail in its protest, then, City Chemical must demonstrate not simply that it manufactures the dye, but that it manufactures the "processed mixture" from the "raw" dye, and then, in a second stage, manufactures the end product dye from the "processed mixture." In our view, we need not address the more difficult question of whether the steps that the protester performs in transforming the "raw" dye into the "processed mixture" are sufficient to constitute manufacturing because we are persuaded that the processes performed by the protester in transforming the "processed mixture" into the final product are not. In this regard, the only processes that the protester claims to perform in the second stage are sifting and selecting the "contract compliant" material. [6] We do not think that sifting to select the portion of the mixture that meets the specification's particle size standard can reasonably be regarded as manufacturing since it involves no changes--let alone substantial changes--to the physical character of the dye. Because there is no second stage manufacturing process, the raw dye from [deleted], as opposed to the "processed mixture," must be regarded as the principal component of the protester's end product, meaning that the second prong of the domestic end product test is not met. The protester further argues that even to the extent that the raw material from [deleted] may be viewed as a component of its end product, its end product still satisfies the requirement that the cost of domestic components exceed 50 percent of the cost of all components because domestic labor is also a component of its end product and its labor costs exceed the cost of the imported material. Labor is not a component of the end product within the definition set forth at FAR Section 25.003, however, because it is not an article, material, or supply incorporated directly into an end product. See Consolidated Tanneries, Ltd. , B-166786, June 24, 1969; see also Glazer Constr. Co., Inc. v. United States , 50 F. Supp. 2d 85, 98 (D. Mass. 1999). (City Chemical LLC, B-296135.2; B-296230.2, June 17, 2005) (pdf)

In sum, under the circumstances here, which include, among other things, Golden’s completion of the Buy American Act certificate in its proposal, the pre‑award investigation of Golden and its manufacturing process by the VA OIG and Customs, the requested post‑award submissions by Golden concerning its component costs (that were consistent with the pre-award information), and the lack of specifics (with the exception of its transaxle argument) from Leisure‑Lift in support of its allegation that the majority of the components comprising Golden’s scooter are of foreign manufacture, we find the agency had adequate information to, and did, reasonably determine that Golden’s scooter was a domestic end product as relevant here. See Cryptek, supra, at 4 (awardee’s confirmation by telephone that its Buy American Act certificate was correct, without the submission of any additional information, was adequate given the level of detail provided by the protester prior to the award of the contract regarding its allegation that the awardee’s product was not Buy American Act compliant).  (Leisure-Lift, Inc., B-291878.3; B-292448.2, September 25, 2003) (pdf)

Agency reasonably determined that protester's refurbished foreign-made cargo containers were not domestic products eligible for an evaluation preference pursuant to the Buy American Act where the steps the protester takes to refurbish the imported containers in the United States do not constitute "manufacturing" within the meaning of the Act.  (TRS Research, B-285514, August 7, 2000)

The Department of Defense has determined it inconsistent with the public interest to apply restrictions of the Act to the acquisition of defense equipment which is mined, produced, or manufactured in certain "qualifying countries," one of which is Turkey. Department of Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS) sect. 225.872-1(a). Thus, although MTI did represent in its offer that it intended to furnish containers manufactured in Turkey, application of a Buy American evaluation factor to its offer would not have been appropriate.  (Charleston Marine Containers, Inc., B-283393, November 8, 1999)