67776 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

FAR do not impose information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et 

seq. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 25 and 

52 

Government procurement. 

Dated: November 15, 2006. 

Ralph De Stefano, 

Director, Contract Policy Division. 

Interim Rule Adopted as Final Without 

Change 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 48 CFR parts 25 and 52, 

which was published at 71 FR 20305, 

April 19, 2006, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

[FR Doc. 06–9307 Filed 11–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 25 and 52 

[FAC 2005–14; FAR Case 2006–017; Item 

III; Docket 2006–0020, Sequence 11] 

RIN 9000–AK61 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2006–017, Free Trade 

Agreements—Bahrain and Guatemala 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) have agreed on an interim 

rule amending the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to implement the 

Dominican Republic—Central 

America—United States Free Trade 

Agreement with respect to Guatemala 

and the United States—Bahrain Free 

Trade Agreement. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 22, 

2006. 

Comment Date: Interested parties 

should submit written comments to the 

FAR Secretariat on or before January 22, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

identified by FAC 2005–14, FAR case 

2006–017, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Search for any 

document by first selecting the proper 

document types and selecting ‘‘Federal 

Acquisition Regulation’’ as the agency 

of choice. At the ‘‘Keyword’’ prompt, 

type in the FAR case number (for 

example, FAR Case 2006–001) and click 

on the ‘‘Submit’’ button. You may also 

search for any document by clicking on 

the ‘‘Advanced search/document 

search’’ tab at the top of the screen, 

selecting from the agency field ‘‘Federal 

Acquisition Regulation’’, and typing the 

FAR case number in the keyword field. 

Select the ‘‘Submit’’ button. 

• Fax: 202–501–4067. 

• Mail: General Services 

Administration, Regulatory Secretariat 

(VIR), 1800 F Street, NW, Room 4035, 

ATTN: Laurieann Duarte, Washington, 

DC 20405. 

Instructions: Please submit comments 

only and cite FAC 2005–14, FAR case 

2006–017, in all correspondence related 

to this case. All comments received will 

be posted without change to http:// 

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal and/or business confidential 

information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Ms. 

Jeritta Parnell, Procurement Analyst, at 

(202) 501–4082. Please cite FAC 2005–

14, FAR case 2006–017. For information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules, contact the FAR Secretariat 

at (202) 501–4755. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

This rule amends FAR Part 25 and the 

corresponding clauses in Part 52 to 

implement the Dominican Republic—

Central America—United States Free 

Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) with 

respect to Guatemala and the United 

States—Bahrain Free Trade Agreement 

(FTA). Congress approved these trade 

agreements in the Dominican 

Republic—Central America—United 

States Free Trade Agreement 

Implementation Act (Public Law 109–

53) and the United States—Bahrain Free 

Trade Agreement Implementation Act 

(Pub. L. 109–169), respectively. These 

trade agreements waive the applicability 

of the Buy American Act for some 

foreign supplies and construction 

materials from Guatemala and Bahrain 

and specify procurement procedures 

designed to ensure fairness in the 

acquisition of supplies and services. 

This interim rule adds Bahrain and 

Guatemala to the definition of ‘‘Free 

Trade Agreement country.’’ The rule 

also deletes Guatemala from the 

definition of ‘‘Caribbean Basin country’’

because, in accordance with Section 

201(a)(3) of Pub. L. 109–53, when the 

CAFTA-DR agreement enters into force 

with respect to a country, that country 

is no longer designated as a beneficiary 

country for purposes of the Caribbean 

Basin Economic Recovery Act. 

The excluded services for the Bahrain 

FTA are the same as for the CAFTA-DR, 

Chile FTA, and NAFTA. Guatemala has 

the same thresholds as the other 

CAFTA-DR countries. The Bahrain FTA 

threshold for supply and service 

contracts is $193,000. For construction 

contracts, the Bahrain FTA threshold is 

$8,422,165. 

Like the Morocco FTA, the Bahrain 

FTA threshold for supplies and services 

is higher than the thresholds for the 

other FTAs. Therefore, Bahrainian end 

products are not covered by the Buy 

American Act—Free Trade 

Agreements—Israeli Trade Act 

provision and clause (FAR 52.225–3 and 

52.225–4). Similarly, like NAFTA, the 

Bahrain FTA threshold for construction 

is higher than the thresholds of the 

other FTAs. Therefore Bahrainian 

construction material is excluded from 

coverage under the Buy American Act—

Construction Materials under Trade 

Agreements provision and clause 

(52.225–11 and 52.225–12) for 

acquisitions less than $8,422,165 

(Alternate I). 

This is not a significant regulatory 

action and, therefore, was not subject to 

review under Section 6(b) of Executive 

Order 12866, Regulatory Planning and 

Review, dated September 30, 1993. This 

rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 

804. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The interim rule is not expected to 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

within the meaning of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq. 

Although the rule opens up Government 

procurement to the goods and services 

of Guatemala and Bahrain, the Councils 

do not anticipate any significant 

economic impact on U.S. small 

businesses. The Department of Defense 

only applies the trade agreements to the 

non-defense items listed at DFARS 

225.401–70, and acquisitions that are set 

aside for small businesses are exempt. 

Therefore, an Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis has not been 

performed. The Councils will consider 

comments from small entities 

concerning the affected FAR Parts 25 

and 52 in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 610. 

Interested parties must submit such 

comments separately and should cite 5 


pwalker on PROD1PC61 with RULES2
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 67777 

U.S.C. 601, et seq. (FAC 2005–14, FAR 

case 2006–017), in correspondence. 

C. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act does 

apply, because the interim rule affects 

the certification and information 

collection requirements in the 

provisions at FAR 52.212–3, 52.225–4, 

52.225–6, and 52.225–11 currently 

approved under OMB clearances 9000–

0136, 9000–0130, 9000–0025, and 9000–

0141 respectively. The impact, however, 

is negligible. 

D. Determination to Issue an Interim 

Rule 

A determination has been made under 

the authority of the Secretary of Defense 

(DoD), the Administrator of General 

Services (GSA), and the Administrator 

of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) that urgent and 

compelling reasons exist to promulgate 

this interim rule without prior 

opportunity for public comment. This 

action is necessary because the CAFTADR took effect with respect to 

Guatemala on July 1, 2006, and the 

Bahrain FTA took effect on August 1, 

2006. However, pursuant to Public Law 

98–577 and FAR 1.501, the Councils 

will consider public comments received 

in response to this interim rule in the 

formation of the final rule. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 25 and 

52 

Government procurement. 

Dated: November 15, 2006. 

Ralph De Stefano, 

Director, Contract Policy Division. 

■ Therefore, DoD, GSA, and NASA 

amend 48 CFR parts 25 and 52 as set 

forth below: 

■ 1. The authority citation for 48 CFR 

parts 25 and 52 continues to read as 

follows: 

Authority: 40 U.S.C. 121(c); 10 U.S.C. 

chapter 137; and 42 U.S.C. 2473(c). 

PART 25—FOREIGN ACQUISITION 

25.003 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend section 25.003 by—

■ a. Removing from the definition 

‘‘Caribbean Basin country’’, 

‘‘Guatemala,’’; 

■ b. Adding to the definition in 

paragraph (2) of ‘‘Designated country’’, 

‘‘Bahrain,’’ after ‘‘Australia,’’ and 

‘‘Guatemala,’’ after ‘‘El Salvador,’’, and 

removing from paragraph (4), 

‘‘Guatemala,’’; and 

■ c. Adding to the definition ‘‘Free 

Trade Agreement country’’, ‘‘Bahrain,’’

after ‘‘Australia,’’ and ‘‘Guatemala,’’

after ‘‘El Salvador,’’. 

■ 3. Amend section 25.400 by removing 

from the end of paragraph (a)(2)(v) 

‘‘and’’; adding at the end of paragraph 

(a)(2)(vi) ‘‘and’’; and adding a new 

paragraph (a)(2)(vii) to read as follows: 

25.400 Scope of subpart. 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(vii) United States-Bahrain Free Trade 

Agreement, as approved by Congress in 

the United States-Bahrain Free Trade 

Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 

109–169); 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend section 25.401(b) by 

revising the third column of the table 

heading to read as follows: 

25.401 Exceptions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

* * * * * * Bahrain FTA, 

CAFTA-DR, 

Chile FTA, and 

NAFTA 

* * * 

* * * * * 

25.402 [Amended] 

■ 5. Amend section 25.402(b), in the 

table, by adding after ‘‘Australia FTA’’

the entry ‘‘Bahrain FTA’’ and in its 

corresponding line items ‘‘$193,000’’, 

‘‘$193,000’’, and ‘‘$8,422,165’’, 

respectively; and adding ‘‘Guatemala,’’

after ‘‘El Salvador,’’. 

PART 52—SOLICITATION PROVISIONS 

AND CONTRACT CLAUSES 

52.212–3 [Amended] 

■ 6. Amend section 52.212–3 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause to 

read ‘‘(NOV 2006)’’; 

■ b. Adding in the second sentence of 

paragraph (g)(1)(i), ‘‘Bahrainian end 

product,’’ after ‘‘The terms’’; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (g)(1)(ii), 

‘‘(other than Moroccan end products)’’

and adding ‘‘(other than Bahrainian or 

Moroccan end products)’’ in its place, 

and removing from the table heading 

‘‘(Other than Moroccan End Products)’’

and adding ‘‘(Other than Bahrainian or 

Moroccan End Products)’’ in its place. 

■ 7. Amend section 52.212–5 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Revising paragraph (b)(24)(i); and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (b)(25) 

‘‘(JUN 2006)’’ and adding ‘‘(NOV 2006)’’

in its place. 

The revised text reads as follows: 

52.212–5 Contract Terms and Conditions 

Required to Implement Statutes or 

Executive Orders—Commercial Items. 

* * * * * 

CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR 

EXECUTIVE ORDERS—COMMERCIAL 

ITEMS (NOV 2006) 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(24)(i) 52.225–3, Buy American Act—

Free Trade Agreements—Israeli Trade 

Act (NOV 2006) (41 U.S.C. 10a–10d, 19 

U.S.C. 3301 note, 19 U.S.C. 2112 note, 

Pub. L 108–77, 108–78, 108–286, 109–

53 and 109–169). 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Amend section 52.225–3 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Adding in paragraph (a), in 

alphabetical order, the definition 

‘‘Bahrainian end product’’; 

■ c. Adding in the definition ‘‘Free 

Trade Agreement country’’ ‘‘Bahrain,’’

after ‘‘Australia,’’ and ‘‘Guatemala,’’

after ‘‘El Salvador,’’; and 

■ d. Removing from the first sentence of 

paragraph (c) ‘‘(except the Morocco 

FTA)’’ and adding ‘‘(except the Bahrain 

and Morocco FTA)’’ in its place; 

removing from the fourth sentence 

‘‘(other than a Moroccan end product)’’

each time it appears (twice); and adding 

‘‘(other than a Bahrainian or Moroccan 

end product)’’ in its place. 

The revised text reads as follows: 

52.225–3 Buy American Act—Free Trade 

Agreements—Israeli Trade Act. 

* * * * * 

BUY AMERICAN ACT—FREE TRADE 

AGREEMENTS—ISRAELI TRADE ACT (NOV 

2006) 

(a) Definitions. * * * 

Bahrainian end product means an 

article that—

(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or 

manufacture of Bahrain; or 

(2) In the case of an article that 

consists in whole or in part of materials 

from another country, has been 

substantially transformed in Bahrain 

into a new and different article of 

commerce with a name, character, or 

use distinct from that of the article or 

articles from which it was transformed. 

The term refers to a product offered for 

purchase under a supply contract, but 

for purposes of calculating the value of 

the end product includes services 

(except transportation services) 

incidental to the article, provided that 

the value of those incidental services 

does not exceed that of the article itself. 

* * * * * 

52.225–4 [Amended] 

■ 9. Amend section 52.225–4 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause to 

read ‘‘(NOV 2006)’’; 

■ b. Adding to the second sentence in 

paragraph (a) ‘‘Bahrainian end product,’’

after ‘‘The terms’’; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (b), 

‘‘(other than Moroccan end products)’’


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67778 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 225 / Wednesday, November 22, 2006 / Rules and Regulations 

and adding ‘‘(other than Bahrainian or 

Moroccan end products)’’ in its place, 

and removing from the table heading 

‘‘(Other than Moroccan End Products)’’

and adding ‘‘(Other than Bahrainian or 

Moroccan End Products)’’ in its place. 

■ 10. Amend section 52.225–5 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Revising paragraph (2) of the 

definition ‘‘Designated country’’; and 

■ c. Removing from paragraph (4) of the 

definition ‘‘Designated country’’, 

‘‘Guatemala,’’. 

The revised text reads as follows: 

52.225–5 Trade Agreements. 

* * * * * 

TRADE AGREEMENTS (NOV 2006) 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

Designated country * * * 

(2) A Free Trade Agreement country 

(Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, El 

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 

Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, or 

Singapore); 

* * * * * 

■ 11. Amend section 52.225–11 by—

■ a. Revising the date of the clause; 

■ b. Revising paragraph (2) of the 

definition ‘‘Designated country’’; 

■ c. Removing ‘‘Guatemala’’ from 

paragraph (4) of the definition 

‘‘Designated country’’; and 

■ d. Revising Alternate I. 

The revised text reads as follows: 

52.225–11 Buy American Act—

Construction Materials under Trade 

Agreements. 

* * * * * 

BUY AMERICAN ACT—CONSTRUCTION 

MATERIALS UNDER TRADE AGREEMENTS 

(NOV 2006) 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

Designated country * * * 

(2) A Free Trade Agreement country 

(Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, El 

Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 

Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, or 

Singapore); 

* * * * * 

Alternate I (NOV 2006). As prescribed in 

25.1102(c)(3), add the following definitions 

of ‘‘Bahrainian construction material’’ and 

‘‘Mexican construction material’’ to 

paragraph (a) of the basic clause, and 

substitute the following paragraphs (b)(1) and 

(b)(2) for paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(2) of the 

basic clause: 

Bahrainian construction material 

means a construction material that—

(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or 

manufacture of Bahrain; or 

(2) In the case of a construction 

material that consists in whole or in part 

of materials from another country, has 

been substantially transformed in 

Bahrain into a new and different 

construction material distinct from the 

materials from which it was 

transformed. 

Mexican construction material means 

a construction material that—

(1) Is wholly the growth, product, or 

manufacture of Mexico; or 

(2) In the case of a construction 

material that consists in whole or in part 

of materials from another country, has 

been substantially transformed in 

Mexico into a new and different 

construction material distinct from the 

materials from which it was 

transformed. 

(b) Construction materials. (1) This 

clause implements the Buy American 

Act (41 U.S.C. 10a - 10d) by providing 

a preference for domestic construction 

material. In addition, the Contracting 

Officer has determined that the WTO 

GPA and all the Free Trade Agreements 

except NAFTA apply to this acquisition. 

Therefore, the Buy American Act 

restrictions are waived for designated 

country construction materials other 

than Bahrainian or Mexican 

construction materials. 

(2) The Contractor shall use only 

domestic or designated country 

construction material other than 

Bahrainian or Mexican construction 

material in performing this contract, 

except as provided in paragraphs (b)(3) 

and (b)(4) of this clause. 

■ 12. Amend section 52.225–12 in 

Alternate II, by revising the date of the 

alternate, the introductory text, 

paragraph (d)(1), and the first sentence 

of the introductory text of paragraph 

(d)(3) to read as follows: 

52.225–12 Notice of Buy American Act 

Requirement—Construction Materials 

Under Trade Agreements. 

* * * * * 

Alternate II (NOV 2006). As prescribed in 

25.1102(d)(3), add the definitions of 

‘‘Bahrainian construction material’’ and 

‘‘Mexican construction material’’ to 

paragraph (a) and substitute the following 

paragraph (d) for paragraph (d) of the basic 

provision: 

(d) Alternate offers. (1) When an offer 

includes foreign construction material, 

except foreign construction material 

from a designated country other than 

Bahrain or Mexico, that is not listed by 

the Government in this solicitation in 

paragraph (b)(3) of FAR clause 52.225–

11, the offeror also may submit an 

alternate offer based on use of 

equivalent domestic or designated 

country construction material other than 

Bahrainian or Mexican construction 

material. 

* * * * * 

(3) If the Government determines that 

a particular exception requested in 

accordance with paragraph (c) of FAR 

clause 52.225–11 does not apply, the 

Government will evaluate only those 

offers based on use of the equivalent 

domestic or designated country 

construction material other than 

Bahrainian or Mexican construction 

material. * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 06–9306 Filed 11–21–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

GENERAL SERVICES 

ADMINISTRATION 

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND 

SPACE ADMINISTRATION 

48 CFR Parts 25 and 52 

[FAC 2005–14; FAR Case 2006–001; Item 

IV; Docket 2006–0020, Sequence 18] 

RIN 9000–AK45 

Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR 

Case 2006–001, Free Trade 

Agreements—Morocco 

AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DoD), 

General Services Administration (GSA), 

and National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Civilian Agency 

Acquisition Council and the Defense 

Acquisition Regulations Council 

(Councils) agree to adopt as final, 

without change, an interim rule that 

amended the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR) to implement the new 

Free Trade Agreement with Morocco as 

approved by Congress (Public Law 108–

302). 

DATES: Effective Date: November 22, 

2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

clarification of content, contact Ms. 

Jeritta Parnell, Procurement Analyst, at 

(202) 501–4082. Please cite FAC 2005–

14, FAR case 2006–001. For information 

pertaining to status or publication 

schedules, contact the FAR Secretariat 

at (202) 501–4755. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. Background 

DoD, GSA, and NASA published an 

interim rule in the Federal Register at 

71 FR 20306 on April 19, 2006, to 

implement the new Free Trade 

Agreement with Morocco as approved 

by Congress (Public Law 108–302). This 

Free Trade Agreement waives the 


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