Department Of Commerce

The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Department of Commerce, a U.S. territorial government entity based in Saipan, operates as a prime contractor and grant recipient for federal agencies conducting tobacco retail compliance inspections, food assistance programs, and international trade support within the Northern Mariana Islands. The entity receives no set-aside designations and competes in full-and-open procurement; its federal footprint consists entirely of prime awards with no subcontract activity.

The department's capability portfolio centers on regulatory compliance inspection and territorial administration. Its primary work involves tobacco retail compliance inspections for the Food and Drug Administration under a $1.3 million single-award indefinite delivery contract awarded January 29, 2026, running through September 28, 2030. The FDA has issued two delivery orders against this vehicle: a $98.8 thousand time-and-materials order completed September 28, 2026, and a $126.7 thousand order awarded September 29, 2026, with ultimate completion scheduled for September 28, 2027. These orders call for undercover buy inspections and evidence collection targeting tobacco sales and advertising restrictions in CNMI retail establishments, performed in Saipan on a time-and-materials basis. Secondary contract work includes a $22 thousand Census Bureau purchase order for support to the Census of the Northern Mariana Islands (completed June 30, 2024).

The department's customer concentration is diffuse. The Food and Drug Administration leads by potential value at $3.6 million across five awards (43% of combined potential value), while the Small Business Administration Office of International Trade and the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services each account for four awards. The Census Bureau holds three awards valued at $146 thousand combined. The top customers by award count account for 75% of all awards. The FDA's single-award indefinite delivery contract represents the only named parent vehicle, supporting two task orders valued at $226 thousand combined.

Recent grant activity includes a January 15, 2025 cooperative agreement from the Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program for $1 (implicit minimal amount) to support local food purchasing and distribution to underserved CNMI communities, and a $100 thousand State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) project grant from the SBA Office of International Trade awarded September 30, 2023, running through September 29, 2025, to fund export training, trade missions, international marketing, and technical export assistance for Northern Mariana Islands small businesses. The department also received STEP funding in fiscal year 2022 and prior cooperative agreements for local food purchase assistance and government contracting training. Activity has been episodic, with one award in 2021, three in 2022, two in 2023, one in 2025, and three in 2026. One award with combined potential value of $127 thousand faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months.