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By: FEDweek StaffThe inspector general of the GSA has questioned the use of waivers of one of the “buy American” laws governing federal procurement, the Trade Agreements Act, for pandemic-related reasons.
The report noted that the GSA in April 2020—in guidance called a Senior Procurement Executive, or SPE, memo–provided an exception to the TAA for several federal supply classes that were not available in sufficient supply from TAA and Buy American statute-compliant sources, an authority that continued through April 2021. That guidance further instructed GSA Federal Acquisition Service contracting officers to add TAA non-compliant products to a database in order to track them during and after the waiver period.
However, the IG found that “contracting officers did not report some TAA non-compliant products, rendering FAS’s control to monitor and roll back the use of the SPE memo exception ineffective . . . FAS’s established control to monitor and roll back the use of expired regulatory exceptions is only effective if FAS personnel adhere to established reporting requirements.”
The IG said it also found six contracts in which contracting officers “added TAA non-compliant products that were not within the scope of the SPE memo” such as notebooks, brushes and lockers. And in one, the country of origin was identified as North Korea, from which imports into the U.S. are generally barred by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
“Our results demonstrate that FAS’s controls to monitor and prohibit the sale of TAA non-compliant products are insufficient. While we are not issuing formal audit recommendations, FAS should address these weaknesses in order to support recent federal initiatives and ensure future compliance with federal regulations,” it said.
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