Federal Acquisition Regulation; FAR Case 2008-036, Trade Agreements-Costa Rica, Oman, and Peru

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 (the Councils) have adopted as final, without change, an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the Dominican Republic—Central America—United States Free Trade Agreement with respect to Costa Rica, the United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement, and the United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement.

DATES:

Effective Date: March 19, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For clarification of content, contact Ms. Lori Sakalos, Procurement Analyst, at (202) 208-0498. For information pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory Secretariat at (202) 501-4755. Please cite FAC 2005-39, FAR case 2008-036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

The Councils published an interim rule in the Federal Register at 74 FR 28426 on June 15, 2009. No public comments were received in response to the interim rule.

The interim rule added Costa Rica, Oman, and Peru to the definition of “Free Trade Agreement country”. The rule also deleted Costa Rica from the definition of “Caribbean Basin country” because, in accordance with section 201(a)(3) of Pub. L. 109-53, when the Dominican Republic—Central America—United States Free Trade Agreement (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 Oman and Peru Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are the same as for the Bahrain FTA, CAFTA-DR, Chile FTA, and North American Free Trade Agreement. Costa Rica has the same thresholds as the other CAFTA-DR countries.

This is a significant regulatory action and, therefore, was 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 Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration certify that this final rule will not 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., because acquisitions that are set aside for small businesses are exempt from trade agreements. In addition, the Department of Defense only applies the trade agreements to the non-defense items listed at the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 225.401-70. No comments were received relating to impact on small business concerns.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act does apply, and this rule is added to 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 Office of Management and Budget clearance 9000-0136 (Commercial Item Acquisition; FAR sections affected are part 12 and provisions 52.212-1 and 52.212-3), 9000-0130 (Buy America Act, Trade Agreements Act Certificate; FAR section affected is provision 52.225-4), 9000-0025 (Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act Certificate; FAR section affected is provision 52.225-6), and 9000-0141 (Buy America Act—Construction; FAR sections affected are subpart 25.2 and provisions 52.225-9 and 52.225-11) respectively. The impacts of this change on information collection requirements are negligible. No comments were received on the burden or number of entities affected by this rulemaking.

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 25 and 52

• Government procurement

Interim Rule Adopted as Final Without Change

Accordingly, the interim rule amending 48 CFR parts 25 and 52, which was published in the Federal Register at 74 FR 28426 on June 15, 2009, is adopted as a final rule without change.