FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 25: Foreign Acquisition › Subpart 25.4

FAR 25.402 General.

The codified text (eCFR, as of 2026-10-02). Under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul ↗, agencies follow class deviations with new text for many parts while the formal rules go through the Federal Register: check the solicitation and your contract's clauses, which rule.

In plain English

This section explains that the Trade Agreements Act lets the President waive the Buy American statute for eligible products from certain countries, and that authority has been delegated to the U.S. Trade Representative. In covered acquisitions, offers of eligible products get equal consideration with domestic offers. It also notes that the acquisition's value determines whether trade agreements apply, and that most dollar thresholds are revised about every two years.

Applies to: Acquisitions covered by the WTO GPA, Free Trade Agreements, or the Israeli Trade Act

What it requires

  • The contracting officer shall determine the origin of services by the country in which the firm providing the services is established.

Key terms: Trade Agreements Act · Buy American statute · eligible products · least developed country · U.S. Trade Representative

Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.

The text

(a)(1) The Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2501, et seq.) provides the authority for the President to waive the Buy American statute and other discriminatory provisions for eligible products from countries that have signed an international trade agreement with the United States, or that meet certain other criteria, such as being a least developed country. The President has delegated this waiver authority to the U.S. Trade Representative. In acquisitions covered by the WTO GPA, Free Trade Agreements, or the Israeli Trade Act, the U.S. Trade Representativehas waived the Buy American statute and other discriminatory provisions for eligible products. Offers of eligible products receive equal consideration with domestic offers.

(2) The contracting officer shall determine the origin of services by the country in which the firm providing the services is established. See Subpart 25.5 for evaluation procedures for supply contracts covered by trade agreements.

(b) The value of the acquisition is a determining factor in the applicability of trade agreements. Most of these dollar thresholds are subject to revision by the U.S. Trade Representative approximately every 2 years. The various thresholds are summarized as follows:

Table 1—to Paragraph (b)

Sections that refer to it

  • 22.1503 Procedures for acquiring end products on the List of Products Requiring Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor.
  • 25.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.
  • 25.406 Israeli Trade Act.

← 25.401 Exceptions. · 25.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. →

Rule changes for FAR Part 25

Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.

FAR 25.402 General · SpendQuery