FAR Text_52.225-9_52.225-10_52.222-90.docx

52.225-9 Buy American-Construction Materials.

As prescribed in 25.602(a), insert the following clause:

BUY AMERICAN-CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (DEVIATION DATE)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item—

(1) Means any item of supply (including construction material) that is–

(i) A commercial product (as defined in paragraph (1) of the definition of “commercial product” at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 2.101);

(ii) Sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace; and

(iii) Offered to the Government, under a contract or subcontract at any tier, without modification, in the same form in which it is sold in the commercial marketplace; and

(2) Does not include bulk cargo, as defined in 46 U.S.C. 40102(4), such as agricultural products and petroleum products.

"Construction material" means an article, material, or supply brought to the construction site by the Contractor or a subcontractor for incorporation into the building or work. The term also includes an item brought to the site preassembled from articles, materials, or supplies. However, emergency life safety systems, such as emergency lighting, fire alarm, and audio evacuation systems, that are discrete systems incorporated into a public building or work and that are produced as complete systems, are evaluated as a single and distinct construction material regardless of when or how the individual parts or components of those systems are delivered to the construction site. Materials purchased directly by the Government are supplies, not construction material.

Cost of components means—

(1) For components purchased by the Contractor, the acquisition cost, including transportation costs to the place of incorporation into the construction material (whether or not such costs are paid to a domestic firm), and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free entry certificate is issued); or

(2) For components manufactured by the Contractor, all costs associated with the manufacture of the component, including transportation costs as described in paragraph (1) of this definition, plus allocable overhead costs, but excluding profit. Cost of components does not include any costs associated with the manufacture of the construction material.

Critical component means a component that is mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States and deemed critical to the U.S. supply chain. The list of critical components is at FAR 25.105.

Critical item means a domestic construction material or domestic end product that is deemed critical to U.S. supply chain resiliency. The list of critical items is at FAR 25.105.

Domestic construction material means—

(1) For construction material that does not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both-

(i) An unmanufactured construction material mined or produced in the United States; or

(ii) A construction material manufactured in the United States, if–

(A) The cost of its components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States exceeds 60 percent of the cost of all its components, except that the percentage will be 65 percent for items delivered in calendar years 2024 through 2028 and 75 percent for items delivered starting in calendar year 2029. Components of foreign origin of the same class or kind for which nonavailability determinations have been made are treated as domestic. Components of unknown origin are treated as foreign; or

(B) The construction material is a COTS item; or

(2) For construction material that consists wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, a construction material manufactured in the United States if the cost of foreign iron and steel constitutes less than 5 percent of the cost of all components used in such construction material. The cost of foreign iron and steel includes but is not limited to the cost of foreign iron or steel mill products (such as bar, billet, slab, wire, plate, or sheet), castings, or forgings utilized in the manufacture of the construction material and a good faith estimate of the cost of all foreign iron or steel components excluding COTS fasteners. Iron or steel components of unknown origin are treated as foreign. If the construction material contains multiple components, the cost of all the materials used in such construction material is calculated in accordance with the definition of "cost of components".

Fastener means a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. Examples of fasteners are nuts, bolts, pins, rivets, nails, clips, and screws.

Foreign construction material means a construction material other than a domestic construction material.

Foreign iron and steel means iron or steel products not produced in the United States. Produced in the United States means that all manufacturing processes of the iron or steel must take place in the United States, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, except metallurgical processes involving refinement of steel additives. The origin of the elements of the iron or steel is not relevant to the determination of whether it is domestic or foreign.

Predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both means that the cost of the iron and steel content exceeds 50 percent of the total cost of all its components. The cost of iron and steel is the cost of the iron or steel mill products (such as bar, billet, slab, wire, plate, or sheet), castings, or forgings utilized in the manufacture of the product and a good faith estimate of the cost of iron or steel components excluding COTS fasteners.

Steel means an alloy that includes at least 50 percent iron, between 0.02 and 2 percent carbon, and may include other elements.

"United States" means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and outlying areas.

(b) Domestic preference.

(1) This clause implements 41 U.S.C. chapter 83, Buy American, by providing a preference for domestic construction material. In accordance with 41 U.S.C. 1907, the domestic content test of the Buy American statute is waived for construction material that is a COTS item, except that for construction material that consists wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, the domestic content test is applied only to the iron and steel content of the construction materials, excluding COTS fasteners. The Contractor shall use only domestic construction material in performing this contract, except as provided in paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) of this clause.

(2) This requirement does not apply to information technology that is a commercial product or to the construction materials or components listed by the Government as follows: None

(3) The Contracting Officer may add other foreign construction material to the list in paragraph (b)(2) of this clause if the Government determines that-

(i) The cost of domestic construction material would be unreasonable.

(A) For domestic construction material that is not a critical item or does not contain critical components.

(1) The cost of a particular domestic construction material subject to the requirements of the Buy American statute is unreasonable when the cost of such material exceeds the cost of foreign material by more than 20 percent;

(2) For construction material that is not a COTS item and does not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, if the cost of a particular domestic construction material is determined to be unreasonable or there is no domestic offer received, and the low offer is for foreign construction material that is manufactured in the United States and does not exceed 55 percent domestic content, the Contracting Officer will treat the lowest offer of foreign construction material that exceeds 55 percent domestic content as a domestic offer and determine whether the cost of that offer is unreasonable by applying the evaluation factor listed in paragraph (b)(3)(i)(A)(1) of this clause.

(3) The procedures in paragraph (b)(3)(i)(A)(2) of this clause will no longer apply as of January 1, 2030.

(B) For domestic construction material that is a critical item or contains critical components.

(1) The cost of a particular domestic construction material that is a critical item or contains critical components, subject to the requirements of the Buy American statute, is unreasonable when the cost of such material exceeds the cost of foreign material by more than 20 percent plus the additional preference factor identified for the critical item or construction material containing critical components listed at FAR 25.105.

(2) For construction material that does not consist wholly or predominantly of iron or steel or a combination of both, if the cost of a particular domestic construction material is determined to be unreasonable or there is no domestic offer received, and the low offer is for foreign construction material that does not exceed 55 percent domestic content, the Contracting Officer will treat the lowest foreign offer of construction material that is manufactured in the United States and exceeds 55 percent domestic content as a domestic offer, and determine whether the cost of that offer is unreasonable by applying the evaluation factor listed in paragraph (b)(3)(i)(B)(1) of this clause.

(3) The procedures in paragraph (b)(3)(i)(B)(2) of this clause will no longer apply as of January 1, 2030.

(ii) The application of the restriction of the Buy American statute to a particular construction material would be impracticable or inconsistent with the public interest; or

(iii) The construction material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality.

(c) Request for determination of inapplicability of the Buy American statute.

(1)

(i) Any Contractor request to use foreign construction material in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this clause shall include adequate information for Government evaluation of the request, including-

(A) A description of the foreign and domestic construction materials;

(B) Unit of measure;

(C) Quantity;

(D) Price;

(E) Time of delivery or availability;

(F) Location of the construction project;

(G) Name and address of the proposed supplier; and

(H) A detailed justification of the reason for use of foreign construction materials cited in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of this clause.

(ii) A request based on unreasonable cost shall include a reasonable survey of the market and a completed price comparison table in the format in paragraph (d) of this clause.

(iii) The price of construction material shall include all delivery costs to the construction site and any applicable duty (whether or not a duty-free certificate may be issued).

(iv) Any Contractor request for a determination submitted after contract award shall explain why the Contractor could not reasonably foresee the need for such determination and could not have requested the determination before contract award. If the Contractor does not submit a satisfactory explanation, the Contracting Officer need not make a determination.

(2) If the Government determines after contract award that an exception to the Buy American statute applies and the Contracting Officer and the Contractor negotiate adequate consideration, the Contracting Officer will modify the contract to allow use of the foreign construction material. However, when the basis for the exception is the unreasonable price of a domestic construction material, adequate consideration is not less than the differential established in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this clause.

(3) Unless the Government determines that an exception to the Buy American statute applies, use of foreign construction material is noncompliant with the Buy American statute or Balance of Payments Program.

(d) Data. To permit evaluation of requests under paragraph (c) of this clause based on unreasonable cost, the Contractor shall include the following information and any applicable supporting data based on the survey of suppliers:

Foreign and Domestic Construction Materials Price Comparison

Construction Material Description

Item 1:

Foreign Construction Material

Domestic Construction

Item 2:

Foreign Construction

Domestic Construction

Item 3:

Foreign Construction

Domestic Construction

Item 4:

Foreign Construction

Domestic Construction

(add rows if needed)

(End of clause)

52.225-10 Notice of Buy American Requirement-Construction Materials. (Alternate I)(May 2014) As prescribed in 25.602(b)(1), insert the following provision:

NOTICE OF BUY AMERICAN REQUIREMENT-CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS (MAY 2014)

(a) Definitions. "Commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) item," "construction material," "domestic construction material," and "foreign construction material," as used in this provision, are defined in the clause of this solicitation entitled "Buy American-Construction Materials" (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.225-9).

(b) Requests for determinations of inapplicability. An offeror requesting a determination regarding the inapplicability of the Buy American statute shall submit the request with its offer, including the information and applicable supporting data required by paragraphs (c) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9.

(c) Evaluation of offers.

(1) The Government will evaluate an offer requesting exception to the requirements of the Buy American statute, based on claimed unreasonable cost of domestic construction material, by adding to the offered price the appropriate percentage of the cost of such foreign construction material, as specified in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9.

(2) If evaluation results in a tie between an offeror that requested the substitution of foreign construction material based on unreasonable cost and an offeror that did not request an exception, the Contracting Officer will award to the offeror that did not request an exception based on unreasonable cost.

(d) Alternate offers.

(1) When an offer includes foreign construction material not listed by the Government in this solicitation in paragraph (b)(2) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9, the offeror also may submit an alternate offer based on use of equivalent domestic construction material.

(2) If an alternate offer is submitted, the offeror shall submit a separate Standard Form 1442 for the alternate offer, and a separate price comparison table prepared in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 for the offer that is based on the use of any foreign construction material for which the Government has not yet determined an exception applies.

(3) If the Government determines that a particular exception requested in accordance with paragraph (c) of the clause at FAR 52.225-9 does not apply, the Government will evaluate only those offers based on use of the equivalent domestic construction material, and the offeror shall be required to furnish such domestic construction material. An offer based on use of the foreign construction material for which an exception was requested-

(i) Will be rejected as nonresponsive if this acquisition is conducted by sealed bidding; or

(ii) May be accepted if revised during negotiations.

(End of provision)

52.222-90 Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors.

As prescribed in 22.2203, insert the following clause:

ADDRESSING DEI DISCRIMINATION BY FEDERAL CONTRACTORS (DEVIATION DATE)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause— Program participation means membership or participation in, or access or admission to: training, mentoring, or leadership development programs; educational opportunities; clubs; associations; or similar opportunities that are sponsored or established by the contractor or subcontractor.

Racially discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities means disparate treatment based on race or ethnicity in the recruitment, employment (e.g., hiring, promotions), contracting (e.g., vendor agreements), program participation, or allocation or deployment of an entity's resources.

(b) In connection with the performance of work under this contract, the Contractor agrees as follows:

(1) The Contractor will not engage in any racially discriminatory DEI activities;

(2) The Contractor will furnish all information and reports, including providing access to books, records, and accounts, as required by the Contracting Officer, for purposes of ascertaining compliance with this clause;

(3) In the event of the Contractor's or a subcontractor's noncompliance with this clause, this contract may be canceled, terminated, or suspended in whole or in part, and the Contractor or subcontractor may be declared ineligible for further Government contracts;

(4) The Contractor will report any subcontractor's known or reasonably knowable conduct that may violate this clause to the Contracting Officer and take any appropriate remedial actions directed by the Contracting Officer; and

(5) The Contractor will inform the Contracting Officer if a subcontractor sues the Contractor and the suit puts at issue, in any way, the validity of this clause.

(6) The Contractor recognizes that compliance with the requirements of this clause are material to the Government's payment decisions for purposes of 31 U.S.C. 3729(b)(4).

(c) The Contractor must include the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in subcontracts at any tier, including those for commercial products and commercial services, except those where the place of delivery or performance is outside the United States.

(End of clause)