WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  GPA/98 
24 April 2009 
 
 (09-1990) 
Committee on Government Procurement Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION 
 
Communication from the United States Pursuant to Article XXIV:5(b)
1 of the GPA  
  
 The following communication, dated 23 April 2009,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States.  
_______________ 
  
NOTIFICATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND 
REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 AND IMP LEMENTING MEASURES RELATING  
TO GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XXIV:5(b)  
OF THE AGREEMENT 
  
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
:  On 17 February 2009, the President signed into 
law the US$787 billion American Recovery and Rei nvestment Act ("ARRA") (Pub. L. 111-5).  The 
Act included two "buy American" provisions, which are attached.  The complete ARRA may be found at the Library of Congress website ( http://thomas.loc.gov
): 
 
• Section 604 of the ARRA requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to procure 
US-manufactured textile and apparel goods, subject to ce rtain exceptions (including 
non-availability, de minimis , purchases outside the United States, and small purchases).  This 
provision becomes effective 180 days after the date of enactment of the ARRA, which was 
17 February 2009.  Section 604(k) requires DHS to apply the "buy American" provision in a 
manner consistent with US obligatio ns under international agreements. 
 
• Section 1605 requires that only US-produced iron, steel and manufactured goods be used in 
public buildings and public works funded by th e ARRA, subject to certain exceptions (public 
interest, non-availability, or unreasonable cost).  Section 1605(d) requires the "buy American" provision be applied in a manner consistent  with US obligations under international 
agreements. 
 
Measures to Implement Section 1605
:  To implement the "buy American" provision in Section 1605 
of the ARRA, two interim measures have been issued:  
• On 31 March 2009, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("Interim 
FAR Rule") to implement the "buy American " provision in the ARRA with respect to 
                                                     
 
1 Article XXIV:5(b) reads as follows:  National Legislation "(b) Each Party shall inform the Committee 
of any changes in its laws and regulations relevant to th is Agreement and in the administration of such laws and 
regulations." GPA/98 
Page 2  
 
  procurement by the Federal government was published in the Federal Register  
(see 74 FR 14623-14633). 
 
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued "Updated Implementing Guidance for 
the American Recovery and Reinvestme nt Act of 2009", which was posted on 
www.recovery.gov
 on 3 April 2009.  The Guidance includes Appendix 9, "Interim Final 
Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance" ("Interim OMB Guidance"), which provides 
information relevant to state and local governme nts on the application of the "buy American" 
requirement consistent with US obligations under international agre ements.  The Interim 
OMB Guidance was published in the Federal Register  on 23 April 2009 ( see 74 FR 18449-
18463). 
 
 Both the Interim FAR Rule and the Interim OMB Guidance require, in procurement covered 
by an international agreement, th at the "buy American" requirement of Section 1605 not be applied 
with respect to iron, steel and manufactured goods of GPA and other trade agreement Parties.  Both 
the Interim FAR Rule and the Interim OMB Guid ance provide a 60-day comment period following 
publication in the Federal Register  before the Rule and the Guidance are finalized. 
  The Interim FAR Rule and the In terim FAR Guidance are attached.
2 
 
                                                      
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