NTIB

Pursuant to Sections 817 and 881(b) of the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), the Department of Defense (“DoD”) recently issued a proposed rule to amend certain sourcing restrictions found in DFARS subpart 225.70 and related clauses.  Specifically the proposed rule would amend the DFARS to:

  • extend the Berry Amendment’s domestic sourcing restrictions to the acquisition of certain athletic footwear for members of the Armed Forces, when the procurement is valued at or below the simplified acquisition threshold [Section 817], and
  • recognize that Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the “UK”) are now members of the National Technology Industrial Base (“NTIB”), thereby permitting the United States to acquire certain items (that are subject to the sourcing restrictions in 10 U.S.C. 2534) if they are manufactured in the UK, Australia, Canada or the United States [Section 881(b)].

We provide our takeaways below.
Continue Reading Takeaways from DoD’s Proposed Changes to Certain Sourcing Restrictions

Last week a group of four Senate Democrats – led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) – jointly published an article about “strengthen[ing]” the U.S. Government’s “Buy American policies.” While the senators acknowledged President Trump’s recent efforts to “re-examine the use of . . . Buy American waivers” (see our blog post regarding the “Buy American” Executive Order), they also expressed concern that these efforts would “not fundamentally change . . . Buy American policies.” In other words, both sides of the aisle are targeting “Buy American” reforms.

[A more in-depth version of this blog post was published in Law360.]Continue Reading Senate Democrats Look to Strengthen “Buy American” Policies and Requirements