RFQ 20149565 Cotton Analysis SOW Attachment 4 Amendment 1.pdf

Request for Quote (RFQ) 20149565 –Statement of Work

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Geographical Source Attribution of Raw and Finished Cotton Goods by Stable Light Isotope

Analysis

1. BACKGROUND

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Operations Support, Laboratories and Scientific Services (CBP/LSS) is the scientific and technical arm of CBP. CBP/LSS provides scientific services to the Office of Trade (OT) and Office of Field Operations (OFO) in support of trade priority issues such as Country of Origin (COO), Antidumping/Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD), and Intellectual Property Rights.

CBP/LSS has been collaborating with OT Trade Remedy Law Enforcement, Forced Labor Division, to address forced labor in supply chains entering the United States.

In December 2021, President Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The Act prohibits, through Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of the People’s Republic of China from importation into the United States. UFLPA went into effect on 21 June, 2022 and established a rebuttable assumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List are prohibited from U.S. importation under 19 U.S.C. § 1307.

The People’s Republic of China is one of the top producers of raw cotton, has one of the largest textile industries, and is one of the most important textile exporting countries.

Textiles remain designated as a Priority Trade Issue (PTI) with CBP. The combination of high duty rates and complex laws and regulations make textile imports susceptible to trade fraud. In December 2020, CBP issued a Withhold Release Order against cotton products produced in XUAR, China based on information that reasonably indicates situations of forced labor. CBP identified forced labor indicators, such as debt bondage, restriction of movement, isolation, withholding wages, through the course of its investigation. CBP’s efforts on the textile industry issues focuses on high-risk areas that can cause significant revenue loss, harm the U.S. economy, threaten the health and safety of the American people, and lead to human rights violations against inhabitants of the XUAR.

2. SCOPE

CBP/LSS has chosen a light stable isotope analysis technical approach to addressing this issue and requires ongoing technical support for determining geographic origin of agricultural products. CBP/LSS is seeking services for light element stable isotopic fingerprinting of cotton for determination of geographic origin. CBP/LSS requires a service provider who has the capability to compare CBP-produced analytical data against a global reference library and determine consistency with claimed and/or suspected regions or countries of cotton origin, as appropriate, as well as provide technical support and training to further this effort.

CBP/LSS has built an internal capability for analyzing finished cotton goods for geographical attribution by Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) analysis. CBP/LSS requires access to validated statistical models based on a global reference library of known cotton to include regions subject to forced labor and other trade priority issues. In addition, specialized IRMS testing methods, relevant training, and technical support are required.

3. SPECIFIC TASKS

Reference materials and zero-points are defined as described in the FIRMS Network Good Practice Guide, 2nd edition.

Reference library is defined as a collection of materials of known provenance that are used to train statistical models and determine consistency with countries/regions of interest. Data maintained on all materials within a reference library shall include: relevant measured isotope ratios; metadata related to the collection, transport, and storage of reference materials.

All references to isotope analysis in this document refer to the ratio of naturally occurring isotopes of hydrogen (2H/1H), oxygen (18O/16O), and carbon (13C/12C), expressed as isotope delta values (per mil, ‰) and obtained by isotope ratio mass spectrometry.

Task 1 – Statistical analysis and relevant IP licensing The Contractor shall provide statistical analysis of CBP-generated IRMS data. As part of this analysis, CBP shall have access to Contractor’s reference library and statistical methods related to the analysis of cotton for source attribution by light stable isotope analysis. The Contractor shall provide all support necessary to allow for CBP to fully utilize Contractor’s IP to analyze cotton for this purpose.

Contractor shall provide:

• Web Portal: The Contractor shall provide and maintain a web-portal to allow for CBP to submit data, access contractor statistical models, and retrieve model outputs/reports. The portal shall have per-user login and shall be maintained to U.S. Government standard security standards. All CBP data shall be stored according to appropriate government standards..

o IRMS data shall be submitted as Excel (.xslx) or comma-delimited (.csv) text file.

o Model outputs shall be accessible in a format as would be used by Contractor’s data analysts and shall be downloadable and viewable using Microsoft Office. Outputs shall be available via web portal within 3-business days of IRMS data upload.

o A minimum of contractor personnel shall have access to CBP data.

• Statistical analysis and licensing of IP.

o CBP/LSS will measure carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen isotope ratio values with VSMOW

(H and O) and VPDB (C) zero-points. Statistical models relevant to the source attribution of cotton by isotope ratios, previously developed by the contractor, will be directly accessible to CBP personnel for the determination of consistency with the claimed and/or suspected geographical source of the analyzed cotton.

o Statistical models shall be made accessible to CBP personnel. CBP personnel shall receive model output for analysis and determination of consistency with minimal intervention of contractor personnel. Ideally, most or all analysis should be automatic and require no Contractor personnel intervention.

o Licensing terms shall be for unlimited access, i.e., full access without regard to the number of analyses performed during the period of performance. CBP expects to process 500 to 1500 samples per year for the duration of this contract.

o CBP will be provided with access to the most recent validated reference library and statistical models at all times for the full period of performance of this contract.

o Reference library shall contain sufficient exemplars to allow determination of cotton from most commercial cotton producing countries and all regions of interest to CBP. Regions of interest include, at minimum, the top 20 cotton producing countries and all regions identified by the U.S. Government as suspected of using forced labor in cotton production.

o Results of statistical analysis provided to CBP shall allow for CBP personnel to assess consistency or inconsistency with each country/region of potential origin and shall include uncertainty of assignment. Results should include both numerical and visual representations of the data (e.g., plots, graphs, etc).

o Contractor shall provide access to mixing models based on Contractor’s reference library, to enable analysis of two-country mixed-origin cotton samples. The requirement for statistical uncertainty required above is not applicable to analyses made using data from mixing-models.

• Technical support for isotope ratio measurements and the statistical determination of geographic source based on isotope ratio measurement.

o The Contractor shall provide technical support to CBP. The support may be via email, telephone, video call, or in-person, based on request and convenience. This support includes, but is not limited to: Contractor laboratory methods, Contractor statistical models, and result interpretation. Support shall be provided within three (3) business days of request by CBP.

• In order to ensure that all CBP analyses are compatible with Contractor’s database and statistical models, CBP intends to use Contractor’s instrumental methods for in-house analysis. As such, all Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) or equivalent documents, including physical, instrumental, and statistical, validated or in use by Contractor for the analysis of cotton by light stable isotope ratio analysis during the period of performance shall be provided to CBP within five (5) business days of Contractor validation/implementation.

All SOPs shall be fully validated by Contractor and all validation documentation shall be available for inspection (see below). This provision includes updates to existing SOPs, if applicable, as well as any and all new SOPs related to the analysis of cotton for origin. SOPs will include descriptions of all processes used during cotton and cotton-containing materials analysis. SOPs to be provided include, but are not limited to:

o Sample preparation of raw cotton o Sample preparation of processed or finished cotton (yarn, fabric, etc) o Weighing of sample material o Grinding of sample material o Drying of sample material o Handling fabrics of blended fibers (e.g., cotton/polyester) o Performance of IRMS analysis o Data workup, including all corrections and QC checks o Statistical analysis of data by Contractor statistical methods

• All data, metadata, statistical methods, and associated information and documentation shall be available for inspection or audit by CBP with 30-days advance notice. Access to Contractor personnel for assistance in understanding Contractor methods and processes is included.

• The Contractor agrees to provide all necessary support, including, but not limited to, information on reference materials, statistical models, and other necessary and relevant information for the purposes of supporting any judicial or legislative proceeding resulting from analysis of samples under this contract.

• The Contractor agrees to provide appropriate personnel for expert opinion and testimony, if requested by CBP or other U.S. federal agency acting on CBP’s behalf.

• Optional Requirement: The Contractor shall provide a fixed price-per-sample for conducting a full analysis of cotton-containing materials. This price-per-sample shall include complete analysis, from receipt of sample at Contractor Laboratory through issuance of a Contractor report.

Task 2 – Quality Control and Proficiency Testing Services The Contractor shall include CBP Laboratories in Contractor-internal quality monitoring and proficiency testing to ensure that all CBP test results are fully compatible with Contractor’s reference 4library and statistical analyses. Contractor shall provide results of quality control and proficiency testing to CBP on a regular basis.

Quality control services

• Contractor shall maintain and furnish all secondary/working reference and quality control materials necessary to ensure compliance with Contractor quality control criteria. This provision applies only to in-house materials and does not apply to materials readily available commercially (e.g., IAEA reference materials).

• Maintain and provide IRMS statistical control acceptance criteria. Contractor will regularly update acceptance criteria, as per their internal quality system and provide these values to CBP for use in CBP’s internal quality tracking. The provided criteria shall include all information necessary to maintain appropriate control of methods. This information may include control charts, instrumental or method uncertainties, limits of detection or quantification, etc.

• Proficiency testing services

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Highlight o Contractor shall organize an inter-laboratory proficiency testing scheme to include all Contractor laboratories and all relevant CBP laboratories. Individual analyst participation shall be at CBP’s discretion.

o Contractor shall provide all testing materials, analyze results of the proficiency testing, and provide results to CBP.

o CBP shall be included in all inter- or intra-laboratory proficiency tests conducted by Contractor, but proficiency testing shall occur not less that once per year.

• Support for Quality Control and Proficiency Testing Services o Contractor agrees to provide technical support in relation to Quality Control and

Proficiency Testing Services.

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Task 3 – Training The Contractor shall provide training to CBP, to include training on IRMS theory and practice, reference database/library design and planning, and the design and use of statistical methods for the analysis of geographical sourcing by stable light isotope analysis. Training shall be available within sixty (60) days of a request by CBP.

CBP requires up to ten (10) days of training per year. Training weeks may be consecutive or non-consecutive at CBP’s discretion. Trainings may occur at any CBP or contractor location or virtually, based on the topic of training and at CBP’s discretion. Trainings may include, but are not limited to:

• Annual refresher training o At CBP’s request, Contractor shall provide refresher training in IRMS theory and practice.

o This training may include theoretical topics and in-lab instruction and troubleshooting.

Individual topics for instruction and discussion shall be determined separately for each refresher training by mutual agreement.

o This training is expected to occur approximately annually, for a one-week duration, at a CBP location. Locations will rotate, beginning in Newark, NJ in the base year, followed by Long Beach, CA, Savannah, GA, Newark, NJ, and Long Beach, CA in Option Years 1-4, respectively. The rotation may be adjusted during the year in question and by mutual agreement.

• Advanced training o At CBP’s request, Contractor shall provide advanced training to no more than five (5)

CBP analysts per training.

o This training may include the theory of geographical source attribution by stable light isotope analysis, database/library generation, statistical model construction, and result interpretation. Topics and location shall be agreed upon in advance.

o This training is expected to occur only occasionally, for a duration and at a location to be mutually agreed upon.

• Additional Training o Additional trainings shall be provided at CBP’s request and upon mutual agreement.

Training topic and location shall be agreed upon, based on the topic of requested training.

4. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHDEULE

All deliverable and work products shall meet the following requirements. Any proprietary information provided to CBP/LSS under this contract shall remain with the federal government and will not be shared or disseminated outside the federal government unless required as part of a legal proceeding. All such documents shall be marked appropriately.

Ownership in data:

• SOPs and similar practical documentation: Contractor retains ownership of all SOPs and similar documentation provided to CBP. CBP retains a perpetual, non-exclusive license to use and modify these files for CBP use.

• Test results: CBP retains ownership of all CBP data and test results/reports produced from CBP data. Contractor agrees to store CBP data until the end of the period of performance of this and any follow-on contracts plus 90-days or until CBP requests deletion of data.

File editing – All text and diagrammatic files shall be editable by CBP/LSS.

Format – Deliverables and work products shall conform to CBP/LSS, CBP, and government standards for correspondence and written products. The contractor shall submit these deliverables and work products in electronic format. Soft copies shall be submitted in Microsoft Professional Office Suite, Acrobat, jpeg, or other agreed upon format as appropriate for the data type. When appropriate, deliverable and work products shall be labeled indicating the requirement it is to fulfill.

Timeliness – Deliverable and activities shall be submitted in accordance with the following table, except when a new delivery and work product date is established by mutual agreement between the contractor and the CBP contracting officer representative.

Deliverable Type Due Date

Task 1 – Analytical results Document Within 3 calendar days of data submission/upload to web portal

Task 1: Audit access Site access and documentation

Within 30 calendar days of request

Task 1: Information in support of samples analyzed

Document(s) Within 30 calendar days of request

Task 1: Updated SOPs Document(s) Within 15 calendar days of validation or initial use by Contractor

Task 2: Quality Control Materials

Physical material Within 30 calendar days of award or as needed

Task 2: QC – control charts or equivalent

Document Within 15 days of update by Contractor

Task 2: Interlaboratory proficiency report

Document NLT Annual, within 30 calendar days of completion of tests

Task 2: Interlaboratory proficiency test materials

Physical material NLT Annual

5. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED EQUIPMENT AND INFORMATION:

No Government-furnished equipment shall be provided.

6. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Contractor facilities.