RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
21October 1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-4434)
Working Party onGATS Rules
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES
Response totheQuestionnaire onGovernment Procurement ofServices
Thefollowing communication isbeing circulated attherequest ofthedelegation oftheUnited
States toMembers oftheWorking Party onGATS Rules.
Attachment II(referred toonpage11,question 12(b)) willbecirculated atalaterdate.
_____________
I. EXISTING PROCUREMENT REGIMES
Where aMember 'sprocurement regime isdifferent forcentral government entities, sub-central
government entities, andother entities, suchaspublic undertakings (e.g.public utilities), it
would beuseful ifthesedifferences werespecified under eachoftheheadings indicated below.
Definition
1. What isthedefinition ofgovernment procurement employed incompleting this
questionnaire?
Procurement isgenerally defined interms ofpurchasing forthedirect benefit anduseof
government entities. TheOffice ofFederal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Act(41USC 403)
defines procurement onthefollowing basis:
Thetermprocurement includes allstages oftheprocess ofacquiring property orservices,
beginning withtheprocess fordetermining aneedforproperty orservices andending with
contract completion andcloseout.
Procurement generally doesnotinclude non-contractual agreements oranyformofgovernment
assistance, including cooperative agreements, grants loans, equity infusions, guarantees, fiscal
incentives, andgovernmental provisions ofgoods andservices topersons orgovernmental
authorities notspecifically covered under U.S.annexes totheWTO Government Procurement
Agreement (GPA) andNAFTA Chapter 10.
Public sector procurement defined broadly includes purchasing byFederal, stateandmunicipal
governmental authorities. However, theU.S.procurement system isnotcentralized, except
withrespect toU.S.Federal executive agencies. Theanswers provided inresponse tothis
inventory generally refertoprocurement byFederal executive agencies.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Administrative structure
2. Howaregovernment procurement activities administered? Towhatextent areprocurement
activities centralized? Please specify theidentity ofanycentral procurement agencies and
theirrespective responsibilities.
Seediscussion oftheFederal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) under Question 3(a)below.
Although Federal executive agencies arecovered bythesameframework oflawsandregulations
ontheirprocurement activities, theygenerally conduct procurements individually, except when
procuring offGeneral Services Administration (GSA) orDefense Logistics Agency (DLA)
supply schedules.
Laws andregulations inforce
3.(a) Please specify thelaws, regulations, rules, guidelines, decrees, decisions andother measures
governing government procurement. What isthescope oftheirapplication? Inparticular,
please describe anyexemptions thatexist. Please provide abrief summary ofthecontent
ofeachofthese measures.
United States Code, Titles 10and41contain thebulkofthelawsuponwhich theFARisbased.
Onanannual basis, authorization andappropriation actspassed byCongress andsigned by
thePresident mayprovide additional authority andrequirements.
TheFAR System codifies andpublishes uniform policies andprocedures foracquisition by
allU.S.executive agencies (central government entities). TheFAR System consists ofthe
FARitself, which istheprimary legaldocument, andagency-specific acquisition regulations
thatimplementorsupplementtheFAR.TheFARdoesnotpermitagencyacquisitionregulations
thatunnecessarily repeat, paraphrase, orotherwise restate theFAR; limits agency acquisition
regulations tothose necessary toimplement FAR policies andprocedures within anagency;
andprovidesforcoordination,simplicity,anduniformityintheU.S.Federalacquisitionprocess.
Title41oftheU.S.Code andtheFARareavailable ontheInternet athttp://www.findlaw.com.
Executive agencies receive appropriations from Congress eachyear. These appropriations
stipulate theprograms thatentities areauthorized tofundandthedollar amounts theyare
authorized tospend. Executive Agencies arerequired insome instances tosatisfy requirements
forgoods orservices fromorthrough centralized government supply sources. Oneexample
isobtaining goods orservices from wholesale supply sources suchastheGSA ortheDLA.
SeeAttachment 1foralistofpertinent laws.
41USC 253(c) and10USC 2304(c) --Other thanFullandOpen Competition --authorize,
under certain conditions, contracting without providing forfullandopencompetition. The
conditions include:
1) only oneresponsible source andnoother supplies orservices canmeet agency
requirements;
2) unusual andcompelling urgency;
3) industrial mobilization, engineering, developmental, orresearch capability, orexpert
services;
4) international agreement;
5) authorized orrequired bystatute, e.g.,national industries fortheblind andseverely
handicapped; Federal prison industries (UNICOR); government printing andbinding;S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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6) national security; and
7) public interest, which israrely usedbecause itrequires notification toCongress not
lessthan30daysprior tocontract award.
Additionally, theDepartment ofDefense (DOD), inparticular, hasspecific requirements to
procure from domestic sources, asspecified inannual appropriations andauthorization
legislation. These include items suchastextiles, food, specialty metals, andhandandmeasuring
tools, among other things, thataresetforth intheDefense Federal Acquisition Regulations
(DFAR) andareexempt fromU.S.obligations under theWTO GPAandNAFTA Chapter 10.
(b) Does theprocurement regime distinguish between theprocurement ofgoods andservices?
Ifso,thenhowistheapplication ofrules determined incases ofjointprocurement involving
bothgoods andservices?
TheUnited States generally doesnotdistinguish among procurement ofgoods andservices
interms ofcompetitive andtransparent procedures. Thesame transparent procurement
regulations apply toalltypes ofcontracts listed above. Please seeresponse toQuestion 3.(a)
above.
TheUnited States doeshavesome specialized rulesforservices, construction, major systems,
utilities, purchases under $100,000 andcommercial itemacquisitions, which aresetforth in
specific provisions oftheFederal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), buteventhese specialized
rulesarestillwithin thegeneral umbrella ofprocedures andrequirements ontransparency and
competition.
FARprovisions generally apply toanycombination ofgoods andservices, although theremay
bespecialized additional rules thatapply tospecific services, forexample.
Procurement procedures applied
4.(a) What procedures arefollowed intheprocurement process?
Procurement procedures could differ according totheopenness oftheinvitations totender.
Atleastthree broad categories ofprocedures arecommonly distinguished: (i)public oropen
tendering procedures under which allinterested parties maysubmit atender; (ii)selective
orrestricted tender procedures under which participation islimited toacertain number of
selected suppliers, andonlythesesuppliers areinvited tosubmit atender; (iii)private contract
orsingle tender inwhich theawarding authority contracts suppliers individually, and
sometimes onlyasingle supplier.
Thegeneral ruleisfullandopencompetition, although there maybespecific circumstances
inwhich selective tendering orsolesourcing maybepermissible. Seetheresponse toQuestion
3(b)above.
Twomainprocurement procedures areusedbased onthelevelofcomplexity ofthegoods or
services being procured. Simplified acquisition procedures areusedforprocurements expected
tobelessthan$100,000, andsealed bidornegotiation procedures areused when the
procurements areexpected tobeabove $100,000. Irrespective oftheprocedure used, the
emphasis isonensuring transparency throughout theprocess. Procedures arepredictable.
TheCompetition inContracting Act(CICA) requires thatcriteria foraward ofacontract be
setforth inthesolicitation. Iftheagency changes thecriteria without advising theofferors,
theprocurement maybeprotested. Biddeadlines arethesame forallofferors. Where theS/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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procurement isconducted using priceandother factors, theunsuccessful offerors mayrequest,
inwriting, debriefings from thecontracting officer. Iftheprice istheonlydecision factor,
theunsuccessful offeror willbenotified inwriting ofthenumber ofbidders, thenumber of
proposals andthetotalcontract price oftheitems intheaward.
Bylaw,technical specifications aregenerally tobefreefromanyrestrictive requirements so
astoallow maximum competition among potential offerors. Theorder ofpreference for
specifications is:
1) voluntary standards;
2) commercial itemdescriptions intheacquisition ofcommercial items;
3) government product descriptions stated predominantly interms offunctions tobe
performed orperformance required;
4) government product descriptions stated predominantly interms ofmaterial, finishing
schematics, tolerances, operating characteristics, component parts andother design
requirements.
Solicitations generally contain detailed specifications (although thetrend recently hasbeen
towards commercial itemacquisition), aswellascontact points forobtaining more detailed
information. TheCommerce Business Daily (CBD), inwhich mostFederal solicitations are
published, includes initial notifications oftheintent toprocure certain supplies andservices.
Specific requirements andspecification information arecontained inthesolicitation document
itself. TheCBDwillonlycontain abriefdescription, along withinformation regarding whether
aparticular procurement isusing aperformance ordesign-based specification.
Additionally, incomplex procurements, procuring officials maydevelop adraftRequest for
Proposal (RFP) andsenditouttointerested suppliers forcomment. Thisprocess isopento
allinterested suppliers. Depending onthecomments received, theRFPmaybealtered. If
achange ismade afterthesolicitation isissued, thechange isgenerally transmitted through
anamendment tothesolicitation.
(b) Under whatcircumstances aredifferent procedures used? Forinstance, ifthemethod used
depends onthevalue oftheprocurement, thethresholds should begiven.
Thegeneral principles andrequirements aredescribed intheresponse toQuestion 4(a)above.
TheFARcontains verydetailed provisions toguide contacting officials inensuring transparent,
competitive procurement. These procedures generally apply toallprocurements above $2,500,
although theyaresimplified withrespect toprocurements below $100,000.
(c) What arethetimelimits forsubmission ofbids?
TheCBD notice generally mustbepublished 15daysbefore issuance ofthesolicitation, and
thesolicitation must allow atleast30daysresponse time. However, theresponse timeisa
function oftheprocurement 'scomplexity. Consequently, insome procurement cases, the
response timewillbegreater than30days. Additionally, required timelimits havebeenrecently
reduced forcommercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) acquisitions andwillbereduced inthefuture
forprocurementsthatareconductedelectronically.Asprocurementmethodsevolve,particularly
byeliminating government-specific requirements andadopting newtechnologies, theperiod
oftimenecessary toallow forcompetitive procurement opportunities islikely todecrease.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Publicity forinviting tenders
5.(a) How areintended procurements publicised? Areinvitations totender published? Ifso,
where, andinwhat languages?
Twostatutes require public notice intheCBD: 15USC637(c)and41USC416.These statutes
areimplemented in48CFR 15.201, "Synopsis ofProposed Contract Actions." There are
12exceptions tothesynopsis publishing requirement. These arelisted in48CFR1subpart
5.202. Inaddition, atthediscretion oftheFederal government entity, invitations totender
canbepublicized through periodic handouts, announcements innewspapers, trade journals,
magazines, orother mass communication media. TheFederal Government isincreasingly
looking totheuseofelectronic means ofpublication, which promises togreatly increase
commercial access toinformation onprocurement opportunities. TheFederal Acquisition
Streamlining Act(FASA) of1994specifically requires theestablishment ofagovernment-wide
electronic system. Additionally, individual agencies, suchasNASA, provided theirsolicitations
overtheInternet.
(b) Dotheextent andform ofpublicity differ according totendering procedures applied and/or
onthevalue ofprocurement?
Publishing requirements arelessrigorous forprocurements falling below thesmall acquisition
threshold of$100,000.
(c) What details oftheintended procurement arenormally published? Isthere aminimum set
ofinformation thatisrequired tobepublished? Ifso,please specify.
Details could include adescription ofthegood orservice tobeprocured, tender opening
andclosing dates, conditions ofparticipation, procuring entity, enquiry point, procurement
plans, procurement outcomes, contract award notices, etc.
Allnecessary information concerning theprocurement iscontained intheCBD announcement
andisspecified in48CFR5.207. Information intheCBD notice includes, butisnotlimited
to,contracting office address, subject, proposed solicitation number, opening/closing response
date,contact point/contracting officer, anddescription ofgoods orservices. Thedescription
ofsuppliesorservicesmustbeclearandconciseandnotunnecessarilyrestrictiveofcompetition.
Itshould allow aprospective offeror tomake aninformed business judgment astowhether
acopyofthesolicitation should berequested.
(d) Arethere anycharges forobtaining thefullsetoftender documents? Ifso,please specify
anddescribe howthese charges areset?
Solicitations areprovided freeofcharge toanyone whoisinterested inmaking anoffer. A
subscription totheCBD oraccount onanelectronic bulletin board, however, isnotfree.
(e) Areelectronic means usedtoadvertise procurement opportunities? What isthenature of
systems thatareinplace? Aredifferent tendering provisions applied tocontracts advertised
inthismanner? Ifso,please describe.
Tender notices areposted onanelectronic bulletin board inaddition tobeing published asnoted
intheCBD. Some agencies, suchasNASA, haveHome Pages ontheInternet andinclude
tender notices atthese websites. Forexample, theNASA Home Pagehasnowbeenlinked
totheAPEC Home Page.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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InOctober 1993, President Clinton sentamemorandum toallFederal agencies directing them
tostreamline procurement through "electronic commerce." Thecentral component ofelectronic
commerce isEDI, computer-to-computer exchange ofbusiness data.
TheuseofEDIallows organizations togenerate, receive andprocess datawithminimum human
intervention. EDInetworks willbeabletoautomatically update inventories, invoice customers,
paysuppliers, advertise federal government requirements andmany other tasks thatarenow
time, labor, andpaper intensive. Itisestimated thatthenewelectronic purchasing could cut
federal procurement costs by10percent by1997 andspeed delivery times byathird.
Inorder toimplement EDI, FASA callsfortheestablishment ofagovernment-wide Federal
Acquisition Network (FACNET) within fiveyears. Thisnetwork willopenuptheacquisition
process toanybusiness withapersonal computer. Agencies havebeengiven anincentive to
implement thenewsystem quickly because theymaynotusethenewsimplified acquisition
procedures forcontracts greater than$50,000 untiltheyhavedeveloped "interim FACNET
capability." Thismeans that,ataminimum, theymustbeabletoprovide widespread public
notice ofsolicitations andreceive responses tothose solicitations andrelated requests for
information.
After December 31,1999, agencies maynotusethesimplified acquisition procedures for
contracts greater than$50,000 untiltheyhaveimplemented a"fullFACNET capability." This
means thatanagency must beabletoconduct 75percent ormore ofitsacquisitions above
$2,500 andbelow $100,000 through EDI. Oncethereisfullgovernment-wide useofelectronic
commerce, therequirement topublish contract notices intheCBD willbewaived forall
contracts below $250,000 thatareconducted using electronic commerce.
Requirements laiddown forpossible suppliers
6.(a) Arethere registration, residence orother requirements forpotential suppliers?
Generally, theUnited States doesnothaveregistration, residence orother requirements for
potential suppliers. However, onaparticular procurement thegovernment might require the
contractor tobewithin acertain distance ofthesiteofcontract performance. Thisrequirement
would beinthesolicitation andapplicable toallofferors andwould onlyrelate toalegitimate
needofthecontracting entity tohavethecontractor inclose proximity. Additionally, for
sensitive procurements, acontractor mayhavetohaveappropriate security clearances, which
maybeobtainable byforeign suppliers.
(b) What isthenature ofanyconditions forparticipation required from suppliers -such as
financial guarantees, commercial standing andtechnical qualifications? Dotheconditions
ofparticipation varyaccording tothenature ofthetender process and/or thevalue ofthe
intended procurement?
Offerors must bedetermined tobe“responsible ”bythecontracting officer. Thisentails a
review ofthecontractor ’sfinancial, technical andmanagerial capabilities inorder topredict
theprobability ofwhether thecontractor willbeabletoperform theterms ofthecontract.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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(c) Dothere existlistsofapproved suppliers? Ifso,what aretheprocedures forchecking the
capability offirms applying forinclusion ontenderers 'mailing lists? Arelistsofapproved
suppliers, ifany,regularly reviewed/updated?
Generally, Federal government entities donotusesource listsforqualified suppliers. In
exceptional cases, however, aFederal entity canestablish asource list,although onlyafter
theheadoftheentity prepares awritten justification explaining theextenuating circumstances
foruseofsuchalist.Potential foreign suppliers from designated countries under theterms
oftheWTO GPA maybeincluded insource lists. Additionally, Part9oftheFARprovides
forthepossibility ofqualified bidders lists(QBLs), qualified manufacturers lists(QMLs) and
qualified products lists(QPLs). Entities mustspecifically justify anddocument theneedfor
establishing suchlistsandallinterested suppliers mustbeprovided anopportunity tobeincluded
insuchlists.
Criteria forassessing bidsandawarding contracts
7.(a) What criteria aretaken intoaccount intheaward oftenders? Arecriteria foraward of
contracts made available inadvance topotential suppliers?
Forinstance, whether obtaining thebestvalue formoney spent istheaimandwhether criteria
other thanprice aretaken intoaccount.
Criteria foraward, known asevaluation factors, arefound insection “m”ofthesolicitation,
aspublished intheCBD.
(b) Isprocurement subject toanyoffset provisions, suchaslocal content, technology transfer
orcountertrade requirements?
Federal executive agencies donotapply offsets, buttherearecertain BuyAmerica requirements,
setasides andother restrictions. Please seetheanswer to(c)below.
(c) Ispreference given toanyparticular enterprises orgroup ofenterprises? Ifso,please specify.
Local content requirements: Ingeneral, theBuyAmerican Actof1933requires thatdomestic
endproducts beacquired forpublic use. Executive Order 10582, December 17,1954 (as
amended) implements thestatutory preference bystating thatanoffered price ofadomestic
product isunreasonable andthatanaward canbemade foraforeign product ifthepriceexceeds
theprice ofaforeign product bysixpercent. Moreover, theExecutive Order authorizes a
Federal agency touseanyfactor todetermine thattheoffered price ofadomestic product is
excessive. Forexample, afactor of12percent isusedbymany civilian agencies todetermine
whether apriceoffered byasmall business firmisunreasonable. Generally, Federal agencies
other thanDOD usethesixor12percent evaluation factor todetermine iftheoffered price
ofadomestic product isunreasonable. DOD usesa50percent factor.
Procurement subject toU.S. international obligations isexempt from BuyAmerican Act
preferences byPresidential action authorized under theTrade Agreements Act(TAA) of1979.
AuthorityundertheTAAhasbeenusedtoimplementobligationsundertheWTOGPA,NAFTA,
theU.S.-IsraelFreeTradeAgreementandtheWTOAgreementonCivilAircraft.ThePresident
hasalsousedtheauthority granted under theTAA toexempt procurement fromcertain other
countries fromBuyAmerican Actpreferences. Additionally, theBuyAmerican Actdoesnot
apply toprocurement ofservices orprocurement bystateandlocal governments, although
many ofthese subfederal jurisdictions apply their ownpreferential procurement policies.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
Page8
However, specific services sectors, particularly inthetransportation sector, maybesubject
todomestic source requirements. Examples include theCargo Preference ActandtheFly
American Act.
Inaddition totheBuyAmerican Act,appropriations andauthorization legislation, particularly
forDOD, mayrequire procurement fromdomestic sources, asdiscussed under Question 3(b)
above.
Preferences forsmall andmedium sizeenterprises: There isnopreference formedium size
companies. TheSmall Business Actrequires thatawards ofanysizeshallbesetaside for
small business participation when thereisareasonable expectation thatoffers willbeobtained
fromatleasttwosmall businesses andawards willbemade atfairmarket prices. Thisisthe
so-called “RuleofTwo”forapplication ofsetasides.
Purchasing Prohibition: TheTAA requires thatprocurement ofproducts fromcountries that
thePresident hasnotexempted from application oftheBuyAmerican Actbeprohibited for
Federal goods contracts thatarecovered bytheGPA. Thisprovision isintended toprovide
incentive toWTO Members tojointheGPA. Theprohibition affects approximately $20-$30
billion inprocurement opportunities annually. Amendments totheTAA contained inthe
Uruguay Round Agreements Act(URAA) of1994permit thePresident towaive thepurchasing
prohibition andapply BuyAmerican preferences initsplaceforcountries thatarenotsignatories
totheGPA butagree toapply equivalent competitive procurement procedures andeffective
anti-corruption measures. Thisauthority hasyettobeexercised. Thepurchasing prohibition
doesnotapply toservices thatarecovered under theGPA.
(d) Dotheprocurement criteria differ according tosector orregion oftheeconomy?
Generally, criteria donotdiffer according tosector orregion oftheeconomy. However, where
there isalabor surplus areaset-aside, geographical location isdesignated.
(e) What isthemargin ofchoice ordiscretion allowed tothepurchasing authority? What does
theextent, ifany,ofdiscretion allowed depend upon?
Themargin ofchoice ordiscretion could relate to(i)therelative weight/importance ofeach
contract award criteria; (ii)margins ofpreference, ifany,inrespect ofspecific criteria; and
(iii)threshold values, ifany,above which referral toahigher levelofpurchasing authority
isrequired. Thediscretion allowed tothepurchasing authority could varyaccording to
whether there is(i)automatic tender, where thecontract isawarded onthebasis of
predetermined criteria; (ii)discretionary tender procedures which involve acceptance ofthe
bidwhich ismostadvantageous-the award ofthecontract isbased onseveral criteria, some
ofwhich arepredetermined, butwhich ingeneral leave theawarding authority acertain
measure ofchoice; and(iii)negotiated tender inwhich theawarding authority negotiates
freely withthepotential supplier orsuppliers astotheconditions ofthecontract.
Contracts arealways awarded onthebasisofspecified criteria inthesolicitation. These criteria
maybeweighted forpurposes ofmaking bestoverall value awards. Preferences under the
BuyAmerica Actaredescribed under (c)above. Negotiated procedures aregenerally only
usedtoselect asupplier from thecompetitive range.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Disclosure ofbidsreceived andcontracts awarded
8.(a) How aretenders received, registered andopened?
Theresponses tosealed bidsareopened publicly. However, innegotiated procurements, the
prices arekeptconfidential untilanaward ismade. Thereason fordoing sorelates tothe
proprietary nature ofthepricing information. Inaddition, theknowledge ofprices could lead
toasituation inwhich theincumbent contractor hasanunfair advantage overitscompetitors.
Thiscould affect theintegrity oftheprocurement system. Accordingly, theonlytimewhen
prices arepublicly disclosed isinasealed bidsituation.
(b) Areentities required topublish details ofthecontracts awarded and/or notify unsuccessful
tenderers?
Thecontracting officer shallaward acontract withreasonable promptness tothesuccessful
offeror bytransmitting written orelectronic notice oftheaward tothatofferor. Within three
daysafterthedateofthecontract award, thecontracting officer shallnotify, inwriting or
electronically, eachofferor whose proposal isdetermined tobeunacceptable orwhose offer
isnotselected foraward. Additionally, apost-award notice mustbepublished intheCBD.
(c) Areentities required topublish, orprovide tounsuccessful bidders, pertinent reasons why
theirbidwasrejected?
When acontract isawarded onthebasisofcompetitive proposals, anofferor, uponitswritten
request received bytheagency within threedaysafterthedateonwhich thatofferor hasreceived
notice ofcontract award, shallbedebriefed andfurnished thebasis fortheselection decision
andcontract award. When practicable, debriefing requests received more thanthreedaysafter
theofferer receives notice ofcontract award shallbeaccommodated. However, accommodating
such untimely debriefing requests does notextend thetime within which suspension of
performance canberequired, asthisaccommodation isnota“required debriefing ”asdescribed
inFARPart33.Tothemaximum extent practicable, thedebriefing should occur within five
daysafterthereceipt ofthewritten request. Debriefings ofsuccessful andunsuccessful offerors
maybedoneorally, inwriting, byelectronic means, oranyother method acceptable tothe
contracting officer.
Ataminimum, thedebriefing information shall include: (1)theentity ’sevaluation ofthe
significant weaknesses ordeficiencies intheofferor ’sproposal, ifapplicable; (2)theoverall
evaluated costorprice andtechnical rating, ifapplicable, ofthesuccessful offeror andthe
debriefed offeror; (3)theoverall ranking ofallofferors when anyranking wasdeveloped by
theagency during thesource selection; (4)asummary oftherationale foraward; (5)for
acquisitions ofcommercial enditems, themake andmodel oftheitemtobedelivered bythe
successful offeror; and(6)reasonable responses torelevant questions about whether source
selection procedures contained inthesolicitation, applicable regulations, andother applicable
authorities werefollowed. Thedebriefing shallnotinclude point-by-point comparisons ofthe
debriefed offeror ’sproposal withthose ofother offerors.
Treatment granted todomestic andforeign services and/or suppliers
9. What laws, regulations, procedures orpractices accord domestic services and/or suppliers
treatment more favourable thanthataccorded toforeign services and/or suppliers, oraccord
services and/or suppliers ofaMember more favourable treatment thanthose ofanotherS/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Member? Please specify how, ifatall,more favourable treatment isaccorded. Please also
specify theworking definition of"domestic" inrelation todomestic services andsuppliers.
“Domestic ”withrespect toproducts isgenerally onthebasis oftheBuyAmerican Actrule
oforigin, which specifies thatmore than50percent ofthecontent mustbemanufactured in
theUnited States andthattheproduct itselfmustbemanufactured intheUnited States. Although
itisgenerally notnecessary todetermine “domestic ”withrespect toservices, including public
works, theBuyAmerican Actprovides adefinition withrespect toconstruction services that
includes anexamination ofownership, nationality ofdirectors andplace ofincorporation.
Information regarding laws, regulations, procedures orpractices thataccord domestic goods,
services, public works and/or suppliers treatment morefavourable thanthataccorded toforeign
goods, services, public works and/or suppliers isprovided intheresponse toQuestion 7(c)
above.
Information regarding laws, regulations, procedures orpractices thataccord goods, services,
public works and/or suppliers ofonecountry more favourable treatment thanthose ofanother
country (e.g.through regional agreements) isprovided intheresponse toQuestion 7(c)above.
Procedures forhearing andreviewing complaints/appeals
10. What, ifany,aretheprocedures available forparties, domestic andforeign, tolodge
complaints against theaward ofacontract? Please provide details.
Details could include:
- institutional status: whether challenges areheard byanadministrative tribunal,
acourt oranyother review body;
- timelimits forcomplaints/appeal;
- typeofremedy, ifany,thatmaybegranted.
There areprocedures available forpotential suppliers, domestic andforeign, tolodge complaints
during anystepoftheprocurement process. These apply toallU.S.Federal executive entities.
Aninterested party canprotest: (a)asolicitation orother request byanagency foroffers for
acontract fortheprocurement ofproperty orservices; (b)thecancellation ofthesolicitation
orother request; (c)anaward orproposed award ofacontract; (d)atermination orcancellation
ofanaward ofthecontract, ifthewritten objection contains anallegation thatthetermination
orcancellationisbasedinwholeorinpartonimproprietiesconcerningtheawardofthecontract.
Theinterested party canfileaprotest withaCongressional agency, theGeneral Accounting
Office (GAO), which isresponsible forgeneral oversight ofFederal executive agency activities.
TheGAO issues itsrecommendation onaprotest within 125daysfrom dateoffiling ofthe
protest withGAO, orwithin 65daysunder anaccelerated review procedure. TheGAO can
suspend theprocurement process while itreviews acasetoensure thatallsuppliers ’interests
arenotprejudiced.
Forcontroversial issues thatariseunder acontract, thecontractor andtheFederal government
entity areencouraged toresolve theissues through mutual agreement --alternative dispute
resolution. Acontractor alsohastheoption offiling aclaim withthecontracting officer and
filing anappeal withtheAgency Board ofContract Appeals orasuitintheFederal Court of
Claims.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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II. MEMBERSHIP OFPLURILATERAL, REGIONAL AND/OR BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
11. IstheMember party toanyplurilateral, regional and/or bilateral agreements withprovisions
ongovernment procurement? Ifso,please describe therelevant provisions.
TheUnited States isasignatory totheWTO Government Procurement Agreement, NAFTA
andtheU.S.-Israel FreeTrade Agreement.
III. ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OFSERVICES PROCUREMENT
12.(a) Please provide statistics (ifavailable) onthenumber andvalue ofservices procurements
- onbothanaggregate andsectoral basis;
- byorigin ofservices andsuppliers.
Inordertoenhancethecomparabilityofdataprovided,Membersmaychoosetoprovidestatistics
according totheservices sectoral classification indocument MTN/GNS/W/120 (dated 10July
1991) attheappropriate levelofaggregation.
(b) Please provide statistics (ifavailable) onthe
- share ofservices procurement intotalprocurement;
- share ofprocurement ofeachservice intotaldomestic output oftheservice;
- share ofprocurement ofeachservice intotaldomestic consumption oftheservice.
Total domestic consumption isdefined asthesumofpublic andprivate consumption orthe
sumofdomestic output andnetimports (i.e.imports minus exports) oftheservice inquestion.
AttachmentIIcontainssummaryinformationonU.S.FederalprocurementforFiscalYear1995.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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ATTACHMENT 1:LAWS RELATED TOPROCUREMENT
Citation Name/Description Applicability
Ethics
Section 27oftheOffice of
Federal Procurement Policy
Act(41USC 423), asamended
bysection 814oftheFY
90/91 National Defense
Authorization Act,Public Law
101-189, andsection 815of
the1991 National Defense
Authorization Act,Public Law
101-510Procurement Integrity
18USC 201,10USC 201,10
USC 2207, 5USC 7353, and
CFR Parts 735and2635 -Prohibition oftheoffer or
acceptance ofabribe.
18USC 208- Precludes aUSG employee
from participating personally
andsubstantially inany
particular matter thatwould
affect thefinancial interests of
anyperson.
18USC 207 Post-employment restrictions.
Prohibits certain activities by
former USG employees,
including representation ofa
contractor before theUSG in
relation toanycontract on
which theformer employee
worked while employed bythe
USG.
41USC 51-58 TheAnti-Kickback Act;deters
subcontractors from making
payments, andcontractors
from accepting payments for
thepurpose ofimproperly
obtaining orrewarding
favourable treatment in
connection with contracts.Certain provisions donot
apply tocontracts under
$100,000.
10USC 2306(b) and41USC
254(a)Restrictions oncertain
contingent fees.Applies tocontracts above
$100,000.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Citation Name/Description Applicability
31USC 1352 Prohibits arecipient ofa
Federal contract from using
appropriated funds topayany
person forinfluencing or
attempting toinfluence an
employee ofanyagency ora
Member ofCongress in
connection withtheawarding
ofaFederal contract.
Transparency/Openness
10USC 2304 and41USC
253FullandOpen Competition
Requirement; withcertain
exceptions, USG contracting
officers shallpromote and
provide forfullandopen
competition insoliciting offers
andawarding USG contract.
Section 30oftheOffice of
Federal Procurement Policy
(OFPP) Act(41USC 426)Electronic commerce in
contracting -provides policy
andprocedures forthe
establishment anduseofthe
Federal Acquisition Computer
Network (FACNET).
FACNET isthepreferred
method ofsoliciting and
receiving quotes andproviding
notice ofGovernment
purchases between $2,500 and
$100,000.Purchases between $2,500 and
$100,000.
15USC 637(e) andtheOffice
ofFederal Procurement Policy
Act(41USC 416)Requirement fordissemination
ofinformation onanyaction
thatwould result inacontract.
TitleVIIoftheFederal
Acquisition Streamlining Act
of1994 (Public Law103-355)Acquisition ofCommercial
Items -USG preference for
acquisition ofcommercial
items ornondevelopmental
items when theyareavailable
tomeettheneeds ofthe
agency.
10USC 2306(a) and41USC
254(b) -Truth inNegotiation
ActRequirement andexceptions
forcostorpricing data
requirements. Alsoimposes
restrictions onprofit for
different types ofcontracts.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Citation Name/Description Applicability
31USC 1341 Multiyear Contracting -
Specific statutory authority is
needed foranagency tomake
financial commitments for
amounts greater thanthose
appropriated annually bythe
Congress.
Socio-Economic
Small Business Act(15USC
631,etseq.), Armed Services
Procurement Act(10USC
2302, etseq.), theFederal
Property andAdministrative
Services Act(41USC 2520,
andExecutive Order 12138 -
Small Business ProgramsThisisalsoknown astheRule
ofTwo-Award ofanysize
shallbesetaside forsmall
business participation when
there isareasonable
expectation thatoffers willbe
obtained from atleasttwo
small businesses andawards
willbemade atfairmarket
prices.
Defense Manpower Policy No.
4B,May23,1980 (44CFR
331), USDepartment ofLabor
Regulations (20CFR 654,
Subpart A),andtheSmall
Business Act(15USC 644(d),
(e),and(f)-Labor Surplus
Area ConcernsAiding labor surplus areas in
theUS,itsterritories and
possessions.Applies toprocurements above
$100,000.
18USC 4082(c)(2) -Convict
LaborFederal prisoners authorized
bytheAttorney General to
work atpaidemployment in
thecommunity under certain
circumstances.
40USC 327-333 -Contract
Work Hours andSafety
Standards ActRequires certain contracts
contain aclause specifying
thatnolaborer ormechanic
doing anypartofthework
contemplated bythecontract
shallberequired orpermitted
towork more than40hours in
anywork week unless paidfor
allsuchovertime hours atnot
lessthanoneandonehalf
times thebasic rateofpay.S/WPGR/W/11/Add.6
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Citation Name/Description Applicability
40USC 276a-276a-7 Davis Bacon Act-Provides
thatcontracts inexcess of
$2,000 towhich theUSG isa
party forconstruction,
alteration, orrepair ofpublic
buildings orpublic works
within theUnited States shall
contain aclause thatno
laborer ormechanic employed
directly upon thesiteofthe
work shallreceive lessthan
theprevailing wage ratesas
determined bytheSecretary of
Labor.Above $2,000
41USC 35-45 Walsh-Healy Public Contracts
Act-Contracts forthe
manufacture orfurnishing of
goods inexcess of$10,000
shallbewithmanufacturers or
regular dealers inthegoods
manufactured orusedin
performing thecontract. .
Certain statutory and
regulatory exemptions exists,
suchascontracts for
perishables, commercial items,
andsupplies manufactured
outside theUS.
Executive Order 11246, as
amended -Equal Employment
Opportunity