FAR and DFARS › FAR Part 25: Foreign Acquisition › Subpart 25.4
FAR 25.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.
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 eligible products from World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) and Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries must receive nondiscriminatory treatment. It provides rules for calculating the estimated value of lease, rental, or lease-purchase contracts to determine if the WTO GPA or an FTA applies, and it restricts purchases under the Trade Agreements Act to U.S.-made or designated country end products or services, with certain exceptions.
Applies to: Acquisitions of products by lease, rental, or lease-purchase contract, and purchases covered by the WTO GPA or an FTA.
What it requires
- Calculate the estimated acquisition value for lease, rental, or lease-purchase contracts using the specified methods to determine coverage.
- Include the value of all options in the estimated value.
- Use the total estimated value of projected awards in any 12-month period for recurring or multiple awards of the same type of product.
- Do not divide any acquisition with the intent of reducing the estimated value below the dollar threshold of the WTO GPA or an FTA.
Key terms: WTO GPA · FTA · designated country end products · Trade Agreements Act · estimated acquisition value
Written by AI from this section's text. A guide, not legal advice: the text below rules.
The text
(a) Eligible products from WTO GPA and FTA countries are entitled to the nondiscriminatory treatment specified in 25.402(a)(1). The WTO GPA and FTAs specify procurement procedures designed to ensure fairness (see 25.408).
(b) Thresholds. (1) To determine whether the acquisition of products by lease, rental, or lease-purchase contract (including lease-to-ownership, or lease-with-option-to purchase) is covered by the WTO GPA or an FTA, calculate the estimated acquisition value as follows:
(i) If a fixed-term contract of 12 months or less is contemplated, use the total estimated value of the acquisition.
(ii) If a fixed-term contract of more than 12 months is contemplated, use the total estimated value of the acquisition plus the estimated residual value of the leased equipment at the conclusion of the contemplated term of the contract.
(iii) If an indefinite-term contract is contemplated, use the estimated monthly payment multiplied by the total number of months that ordering would be possible under the proposed contract, i.e., the initial ordering period plus any optional ordering periods.
(iv) If there is any doubt as to the contemplated term of the contract, use the estimated monthly payment multiplied by 48.
(2) The estimated value includes the value of all options.
(3) If, in any 12-month period, recurring or multiple awards for the same type of product or products are anticipated, use the total estimated value of these projected awards to determine whether the WTO GPA or an FTA applies. Do not divide any acquisition with the intent of reducing the estimated value of the acquisition below the dollar threshold of the WTO GPA or an FTA.
(c) Purchase restriction. (1) Under the Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2512), in acquisitions covered by the WTO GPA, acquire only U.S.-made or designated country end products or U.S. or designated country services, unless offers for such end products or services are either not received or are insufficient to fulfill the requirements. This purchase restriction does not apply below the WTO GPA threshold for supplies and services, even if the acquisition is covered by an FTA.
(2) This restriction does not apply to purchases of supplies by the Department of Defense from a country with which it has entered into a reciprocal agreement, as provided in departmental regulations.
← 25.402 General. · 25.404 Least developed countries. →
Rule changes for FAR Part 25
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Trade Agreements Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2026-03-13 · effective 2026-03-13
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · final rule 2025-08-27 · effective 2025-10-01
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: List of Domestically Nonavailable Articles ↗ · final rule 2025-05-12 · effective 2025-06-11
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Improving Consistency Between Procurement and Nonprocurement Procedures on Suspension and Debarment ↗ · final rule 2025-01-03 · effective 2025-01-17
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-12-16 · effective 2025-01-03
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Inflation Adjustment of Acquisition-Related Thresholds ↗ · proposed 2024-11-29 · comments due 2025-01-28
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: List of Domestically Nonavailable Articles ↗ · proposed 2024-10-23 · comments due 2024-12-23
- Federal Acquisition Regulation; Technical Amendments ↗ · final rule 2024-07-30 · effective 2024-08-29
Source: eCFR, 48 CFR chapters 1 and 2 (GPO GovInfo bulk data) ↗. Plain words for the terms: glossary.