SOO_RFQ.pdf

34300018Q0042

SECTION 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission) is issuing this Combined Synopsis//Solicitation in accordance with FAR Subpart 12.6, Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items

1.1 SET ASIDE

Not Applicable.

1.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

One Base Year and three option years for a maximum period of performance of 48 months, if all options are exercised.

1.3 PRICING – CONTRACT LINE ITEM NUMBERS (CLIN)

In meeting the requirement described in Section 2, the Offeror shall provide a Firm Fixed Price for the Base Year, and each of the Option Years, charted below.

CLIN Description Firm Fixed Price

00001 Base Year Date of Award through Month 12

00002 Option Year One Month 13 through Month 24

00003 Option Year Two Month 25 through Month 36

00004 Option Year Three Month 37 through Month 48

TOTAL

FFP

SECTION 2

STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

2.0 AGENCY MISSION

The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission) is an independent, quasi-judicial Federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities on matters of trade. The mission of the USITC is to (1) administer U.S. trade remedy laws within its mandate in a fair and objective manner;

(2) provide the President, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), and the Congress with independent quality analysis, information and support on matters relating to tariffs, international trade and competitiveness; and (3) maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS).

2.1 SCOPE

The Commission requires web-based access to foreign trade data to support its work with statutory investigations, technical assistance, and research activities. It is critical the Commission have access to the most timely, accurate foreign trade data available to meet these requirements. The Commission conducts complex analysis on economy-wide trade matters requiring the ability to access and download large volumes of trade data. The database should also allow the flexibility to easily drill down to analyze trade in individual products and/or countries. In addition, to further facilitate analysis on individual products, to the extent possible, the database should provide trade data in value (in dollars and local currency), quantity and unit value, and data at the tariff line level and finer, if available. To meet the complex nature of the analytical work conducted by the Commission, the trade database must also have the ability to group countries and products.

2.2 OBJECTIVE

The objective of this effort is to obtain a web-based subscription which provides access to foreign trade data.

2.3 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

2.3.1 Web-based access with user friendly interface

2.3.2 Site license capable

2.3.3 Trade data sources from national statistical offices of trading countries from other sources to the extent national trade is not available

2.3.4 Historical data coverage for a minimum of ten (10) years back from current year

2.3.5 Ability to select data for the following periods: Monthly, Quarterly; Calendar Year; 12-Month

Year Ending, and Year-to-Date

2.3.6 Export and download of data in CSV (Comma-separated Values), tab delimited, or EXCEL formats

2.3.7 Ability to save and store queries for later use

2.3.8 Search criteria options should include year, reporters, partners, commodity and commodity description (HS basis), value, quantity, and unit value

2.3.9 Automated source data updates with notification capability

2.3.10 National currency preference options

2.3.11 Pre-established trade bloc groupings (e.g. EU, ECOWAS, etc.)

2.3.12 Ability to mix and match country groups and individual countries in one query (e.g. EU 28 and all other individual countries

2.3.13 Ability to access EU external trade only

2.3.14 Ability to convert quantity data to standard units to the extent available (e.g. kilograms to pounds)

2.3.15 Ability to for user to easily group countries

2.3.16 Ability for user to easily group commodities

2.3.17 Import data detail to at least each country’s tariff line, and to the finest level of detail available

(e.g. 10-digit level if made available by country

2.3.18 Ability to drill down from import or export run to obtain more detail at the commodity level

2.3.19 Ability to drill down from import or export run to obtain more detail at the country level

2.3.20 Ability to drill down to view individual members of a group (both reporters and partners)

2.4 FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS – OPTIONAL / PREFERRED

2.4.1 Integration with interactive tables updating data on demand

2.4.2 Reporting format output to PDF, WORD, etc., as insert-capable to third party documents

2.4.3 English translation of foreign language descriptions

2.4.4 Data coverage to 1989

2.4.5 Dynamic chart/graph/map/other visualization presentation of data output

2.4.6 Search criteria options include industry code

2.4.7 Ability to share queries among different users

2.4.8 Ability to view data in quantity and value on one webpage

2.4.9 Ability to access external trade only for custom country groups

2.4.10 Ability to re-edit queries without saving

2.4.11 Ability to set own defaults for queries

2.4.12 Ability to have historical mapping for changes to HS

2.4.13 Ability to sort based on units and filter out very minor unit categories

2.4.14 Ability to access external trade for all pre-established and personal country groups/trading blocs

2.4.15 Archived country-level tariff schedules

2.4.16 Country-specific HS look-up and download b HS code and description

2.4.17 Correlation between SITC, NACIS, and HS codes

2.4.18 U. S. state and port trade

2.4.19 China regime trade

2.4.20 Canada trade by mode

2.4.21 Canada by province trade with U. S. states

2.5. DELIVERABLES

NO. DELIVERABLE DELIVERY DUE DATE

1 Training / Training Materials Commission Staff

Within One Week of Award

SECTION 3

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

3. 0. TYPE OF ORDER

The Government will issue a Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order.

3.1. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (ANTICIPATED AWARD SEPTEMBER 2018)

Base Year: Date of Award through Month 12 Option Year 1 Month 13 through Month 24 Option Year 2: Month 25 through Month 36 Option Year 3: Month 37 through Month 48

Option years are solely exercised at the discretion of the Government.

3. 2. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

U. S. International Trade Commission Office of Operations 500 E Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20436

3. 3. PURCHASE ORDER MANAGEMENT

The following individuals will serve as the Commission’s points of contact during the performance of this effort:

3.3.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER (CO)

All contract administration shall be effected by the CO. Communications pertaining to contract administration matters shall be addressed to the CO. No changes in or deviations from this contract are authorized unless directed in writing by the CO.

The CO is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of the contract and notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract. The said authority remains solely with the CO. The CO is authorized to appoint a Contract Specialist to perform administrative contracting functions for this contract. In the event, the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the CO, the change shall be considered to have been made without the authority of the CO and no adjustment shall be made in the contract price to cover any increase in costs incurred as a result thereof. The CO is also responsible for making the final decisions on matters under dispute, unsatisfactory conformance, as well as contract terminations for convenience or default.

The following Contracting Officers will be responsible for contract administration. The CO may change at any time by the Government without prior notice to the Contractor, but notification of the change, including the name and address of the successor CO, shall be promptly provided to the Contractor in writing.

Contracting Officer Debra Bridge U.S. International Trade Commission 500 E Street, S.W.

Washington, DC 20436 Phone: 202-205-2004 Email: debra.bridge@usitc.gov

3.3.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

Notwithstanding the Contractor’s responsibility for total management during the performance of this contract, the administration of the contract shall require maximum coordination between the Commission and the Contractor.

The COR shall be designated on authority by the CO to monitor all technical aspects and assist in the administration of this contract. A copy of the COR’s letter of designation shall be issued to the COR with a copy furnished to the Contractor, stating the responsibilities and limitations of the COR. This letter shall clarify to all parties of the contract, the responsibilities of the COR. The duties of the COR include but are not limited to: 1) assuring the Contractor’s compliance with the technical requirements;

2) performing or arranging necessary inspections in connection with the technical performance;

3) maintaining both written and oral communications with the Contractor/Subcontractor; 4) notifying the Contractor and the CO of any deficiencies observed; 5) monitoring the Contractor’s overall performance; and 6) certifying all invoices/vouchers for acceptance of services provided for payment.

The COR does not have the authority to alter the Contractor’s obligations, direct changes that fall within purview of the General Provisions clause entitled “Changes,” or modify any of the expressed terms, conditions, specifications, or cost under this contract. If because of technical discussions it is desirable to alter/change contractual obligations within the Scope of Work, the CO shall issue such changes in writing.

The COR may be changed at any time by the Government without prior notice to the Contractor, but notification of the change, including the name and address of the successor COR, shall be promptly provided to the Contractor in writing:

Contracting Officer’s Representative

TBD

U.S. International Trade Commission 500 E Street, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20436 Phone: 202-205-xxxx ; Email: first.last@usitc.gov mailto:first.last@usitc.gov

3.4 SUBMISSION OF INVOICES

All invoices shall be submitted to the following address: invoices@usitc.gov

The contractor shall submit proper invoices on a monthly basis for any work performed during the month being invoiced. To constitute a proper invoice, each invoice submitted shall include the following information and/or attached documentation.

1. Name and address of the contractor

2. Invoice date and invoice number

3. Task Order Number (34300018xxxxx)

4. Description, price, and quantity of services/supplies actually rendered/delivered

5. Delivery date/period of performance covered by the invoice

6. Payment terms

7. A “Remit To” address that corresponds to the remittance address of the Task

Order

8. Name, title, phone number, email address of contact person to be notified in the event of a defective invoice.

3.5 FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS

3.5.1. OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES – FAR 52.217-8 (NOV 1999)

The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 15 calendar days.

3.5.2 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT – FAR 52.217-9 (MAR 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days;

provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 45 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed five years.

3.6 CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

An evaluation of the contractor’s performance will be prepared on this effort in accordance with FAR Subpart 42.15. This evaluation will be prepared, by the COR, at the time of completion of work.

The evaluation will be provided to the Contractor as soon as practicable after completion. The Contractor will be permitted thirty (30) calendar days to review the document and to submit additional information or a rebutting statement. Any disagreement between the parties regarding an evaluation will be referred to an individual one level above the CO, whose decision will be final.

Copies of the evaluation, contractor responses, and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the contract file, and may be used to support future award decisions.

3.7 AUTHORITY TO OBLIGATE THE GOVERNMENT

The Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit or obligate the Government to the expenditure of public funds. No cost chargeable to the contract or task orders can be incurred before receipt of a fully executed contract or task order or specific authorization from the Contracting Officer.

SECTION 4

QUOTATION PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

4.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

If you are interested in competing for the requirement described in Section 2 of this solicitation, you may participate by following the instructions provided herein.

DUE DATES

Questions related to this solicitation must be emailed to debra.bridge@usitc.gov, on or before

10:00 AM, ET, Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

Written Quotation shall be received by the Government on or before 10:00 AM, ET, Monday, September 17, 2018. Delivery may be made by Email, U. S. Mail, courier service, UPS, or FedEx.

U. S. International Trade Commission Office of Procurement

500 E Street, S.W., Suite 315 Washington, DC 20436 ATTN: Debra Bridge

Debra.bridge@usitc.gov

Any submission received by the USITC after the above stated date and time will be considered as late and may not be considered for award.

4.1. TECHNICAL

This solicitation requires the submission of two volumes, one to address the technical portion of the solicitation; the other volume addressing business and pricing information.

Capability: The technical quotation shall include information demonstrating the offeror’s understanding of the scope of the requirement; information regarding coverage; functionality (Reference Section 2, Paragraphs 2.3. and 2.4); ease of use; and support.

Past Experience/Past Performance: The offeror shall complete the Past Experience/Past Performance Reference Information Form (See Attachment 1). The offeror shall provide evidence of the offeror’s past experience and past performance in meeting a similar effort. The offeror shall provide two references of either current or past clients.

4.2. BUSINESS/PRICE QUOTATION

A written business/price quotation shall be prepared in accordance with Section 1, and is due to the Government on the date and time specified herein.

mailto:debra.bridge@usitc.gov

SECTION 5

EVALUATION OF QUOTATIONS

5.0 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Each offer will be evaluated against the technical evaluation factors listed below.

5.1 BASIS FOR AWARD

Award(s) shall be made to the responsible offeror(s) whose offer, in conforming to this Request for Quotation, provides an overall best value to the Government, technical evaluation factors and price considered.

The Government's objective is to obtain the highest technical quality considered necessary to meet the Government’s requirement, with a realistic and reasonable price. Technical evaluation factors are more important than price.

The Government reserves the right not to make an award as a result of this competition if, in the opinion of the Government, none of the offers would provide satisfactory performance at a price that is considered fair and reasonable and/or economically feasible.

5.2. FAR 52.212-2 EVALUATION – COMMERCIAL ITEMS (OCT 2014)

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers:

• The Offeror’s understanding of the scope of the requirement;

• The Offeror’s ability to meet the functional requirements and optional/preferred requirements (Reference Section 2: Paragraphs 2.3. and 2.4);

• The Offeror’s Level of Support to Customers;

• The product’s Ease of Use.

Technical and past performance, when combined, are more important than price.

(b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s).

(c) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award.

(End of provision)

Past Performance: Past performance is the Government's assessment of the degree to which an offeror has satisfied its past customers. The USITC will evaluate, in the opinion of past customers, the following information:

• The quality of deliverables;

• The timeliness of deliverables;

• The quality of communications with stakeholders;

• The quality/professionalism of the offeror’s staff;

• The overall satisfaction with the offeror’s performance;

The Government may also use past performance information obtained from other than the sources identified by the offeror; for example, the Past Performance Information and Retrieval System (www.ppirs.gov). Information obtained will be used in making the best value decision. The Government reserves the right to contact directly any of the past performance references provided.

5.3 PRICE

The Government will evaluate the offeror’s final quoted price for reasonableness. The offeror is expected to quote a reasonable price.

Each price quote will be assessed to identify any potential risk. Price risk refers to any aspect of an offeror’s quote which could have significant negative price consequences for the Government. Where risk is assessed, it may be described in qualitative terms or used as a best-value discriminator.

< End of Solicitation > http://www.ppirs.gov/

SECTION 6

ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 Past Experience/Past Performance Form 2 pages

ATTACHMENT 1

PAST EXPERIENCE/PAST PERFORMANCE

REFERENCE INFORMATION FORM

1. Complete name of Government agency, commercial firm, or other organization

2. Complete address

3. Order number or other reference

4. Date of Order

5. Date work was begun

6. Date work was completed

7. Estimated Order price

8. Final amount invoiced or amount invoiced to date

9a. Technical point of contact (name, title, address, telephone no. and email address)

9b. Ordering or purchasing point of contact (name, title, address, telephone no. and email address)

10. Location of work (country, state or province, county, city)

11. Description of Order work (Describe the nature and scope of the experience and provide an explanation of how the work is the same or similar to the work required by the USITC). Attach an explanation of any performance problems or other conflicts with the customer. Use a continuation sheet, if necessary.)

12. Current status of Order (choose one):

Work continuing, on schedule Terminated for convenience Work continuing, behind schedule Terminated for default Work completed, no further action pending or underway Other (explain) Work completed, routine administrative action pending or underway Work completed, claims negotiations pending or underway Work completed, litigation pending or underway

Instructions for Completing the Experience/Reference Information Sheet

Item 1: Insert the complete name of the Government Agency, commercial firm or other organization for whom the work was performed.

Item 2: Insert the customer’s complete address, including both post office box and street addresses, if applicable.

Item 3: Insert any Order number or other Order reference used by the customer.

Item 4: Insert the date on which the Order came into existence

Item 5: Insert the date on which you started to perform the work.

Item 6: Insert the date on which the customer agreed that the work was satisfactorily completed. If work is ongoing insert the date of Order expiration.

Item 7: Insert the total estimated Order price or value.

Item 8: Insert the final sum of all invoices, or the sum of all invoices to date.

Item 9a: Insert the name, title, address, telephone no., and email address (if available) of the program or project manager or other customer technical representative who is most familiar with the quality of your work under the Order.

Item 9b: Insert the name, title, address, telephone no., and email address (if available) of the contracting officer, purchasing agent, or other customer contracting or purchasing representative who is most familiar with your work under the contract.

Item 10: Insert the location(s) where the work was performed.

Item 11: Describe the nature and scope of the work. The objective is to show how the work that you did or are doing is similar in nature and scope to the work that is to be performed under the Order contemplated by the request for proposal. Describe any unusual circumstances of performance or problems that may be relevant to the work that is to be performed. Tell your side of the story of any conflicts with the customer concerning which they may make adverse remarks about your performance.

Describe any actions that you have taken to take to correct any shortcomings in your performance.