[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70822-70823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25236]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[OMB Control No. 9000-0024; Docket No. 2022-0053; Sequence No. 22]


Submission for OMB Review; Buy American, Trade Agreements, and 
Duty-Free Entry

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration 
(GSA), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Regulatory Secretariat Division has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve a revision 
of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding 
Buy American, associated with implementation of Federal Acquisition 
Regulation (FAR) rule 2021-008, Amendments to the FAR Buy American Act 
Requirements.

DATES: Submit comments on or before December 21, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for this information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under Review--Open for Public 
Comments'' or by using the search function.
    Additionally, submit a copy to GSA through https://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions on the site. This 
website provides the ability to type short comments directly into the 
comment field or attach a file for lengthier comments.
    Instructions: All items submitted must cite OMB Control No. 9000-
0024, Buy American, Trade Agreements, and Duty-Free Entry. Comments 
received generally will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business 
confidential information provided. To confirm receipt of your 
comment(s), please check www.regulations.gov, approximately two-to-
three days after submission to verify posting. If there are 
difficulties submitting comments, contact the GSA Regulatory 
Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755 or [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Mahruba Uddowla, Procurement 
Analyst, at telephone 703-605-2868, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. OMB Control Number, Title, and Any Associated Form(s)

    9000-0024, Buy American, Trade Agreements, and Duty-Free Entry.

B. Needs and Uses

    This clearance covers the information that an offeror must submit 
in response to the requirements of the provisions and clauses in 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 25 that relate to the 
following:
    * The Buy American statute (41 U.S.C. chapter 83) and Executive 
Orders (E.O.s) 10582 and 14005.
    * The Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2501-2515), including the 
World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and various 
free trade agreements.
    * The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-
5) (Recovery Act).
    * Subchapters VIII and X of Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (19 U.S.C. 1202).
    a. 52.225-2, Buy American Certificate. This provision requires the 
offeror to identify in its proposal supplies that do not meet the 
definition of domestic end product and whether those supplies exceed 
55% domestic content. This provision also requires offerors to identify 
in its proposal domestic end products that contain a critical 
component.
    b. 52.225-4, Buy American--Free Trade Agreements--Israeli Trade Act 
Certificate. This provision requires a separate list of foreign 
products that are eligible under a trade agreement, and a list of all 
other foreign end products and whether those supplies exceed 55% 
domestic content. This provision also requires offerors to identify in 
its proposal domestic end products that contain a critical component.
    c. 52.225-6, Trade Agreements Certificate. This provision requires 
the offeror to certify that all end products are either U.S.-made or 
designated country end products, except as listed in paragraph (b) of 
the provision. Offerors are not allowed to provide other than a U.S.-
made or designated country end product, unless the requirement is 
waived.
    d. 52.225-8, Duty-Free Entry. This clause requires contractors to 
notify the

[[Page 70823]]

contracting officer when they purchase foreign supplies, in order to 
determine whether the supplies should be duty-free. The notice shall 
identify the foreign supplies, estimate the amount of duty, and the 
country of origin. The contractor is not required to identify foreign 
supplies that are identical in nature to items purchased by the 
contractor or any subcontractor in connection with its commercial 
business, and segregation of these supplies to ensure use only on 
Government contracts containing duty-free entry provisions is not 
economical or feasible. In addition, all shipping documents and 
containers must specify Start Printed Page 8915certain information to 
assure the duty-free entry of the supplies.
    e. Construction provisions and clauses:

 52.225-9, Buy American--Construction Materials
 52.225-10, Notice of Buy American Requirement--Construction 
Materials
 52.225-11, Buy American--Construction Materials Under Trade 
Agreements
 52.225-12, Notice of Buy American Requirement--Construction 
Materials under Trade Agreements
 52.225-21, Required Use of American Iron, Steel and 
Manufactured Goods--Buy American--Construction Materials
 52.225-23, Required Use of American Iron, Steel and 
Manufactured Goods--Buy American--Construction Materials Under Trade 
Agreements

    The listed provisions and clauses provide that an offeror or 
contractor requesting to use foreign construction material due to 
unreasonable cost of domestic construction material shall provide 
adequate information to permit evaluation of the request.

C. Annual Burden

    Respondents: 16,478.
    Total Annual Responses: 69,165.
    Total Burden Hours: 43,469.

D. Public Comment

    A 60-day notice was published within the proposed FAR rule (2021-
008, Amendments to the FAR Buy American Act Requirements) in the 
Federal Register at 86 FR 40980, on July 30, 2021. The proposed FAR 
rule included information collection requirements that were additional 
to the paperwork burden previously approved under OMB Control Number 
9000-0024 as well as a new information collection requirement that 
would have required clearance under a new OMB Control Number (i.e., 
``Domestic Content Reporting Requirement''). However, as explained in 
the published final FAR rule at 87 FR 12780, on March 7, 2022, the FAR 
will not be implementing the information collection for domestic 
content reporting until a future FAR rule but the final rule did 
proceed with the information collection requirements that are 
additional to the paperwork burden previously approved under OMB 
Control Number 9000-0024. As such, the Regulatory Secretariat Division 
is proceeding with seeking OMB approval of the revised information 
collection requirements under OMB Control Number 9000-0024 but has 
withdrawn its request for approval of a new information collection 
requirement concerning ``Domestic Content Reporting Requirement.''
    No comments to the 60-day notice specifically cited this OMB 
Control Number but two respondents did comment on the requirement for 
offerors to identify whether any of their end products/construction 
material contain critical components.
    a. One respondent commented that the establishment of a separate 
representation process can create administrative burden and cost for 
vendors, as associated compliance mechanisms will be required to assure 
the accuracy of such separate representations. The respondent did not 
appear to be aware that the FAR Council acknowledged the additional 
burden associated with this new representation and sought an increase 
to the estimated burdens associated through this clearance. Since no 
feedback was provided on the FAR Council's proposed calculations for 
the associated burden, no revisions are being made to the estimates 
previously provided.
    b. One respondent commented that contractors are unable to comply 
with the ``reporting requirements.'' Since no feedback was provided on 
the FAR Council's proposed calculations for the associated burden, no 
revisions are being made to the estimates previously provided.
    Obtaining Copies: Requesters may obtain a copy of the information 
collection documents from the GSA Regulatory Secretariat Division, by 
calling 202-501-4755 or emailing [email protected]. Please cite OMB 
Control No. 9000-0024, Buy American, Trade Agreements, and Duty-Free 
Entry.

Janet Fry,
Director, Federal Acquisition Policy Division, Office of Governmentwide 
Acquisition Policy, Office of Acquisition Policy, Office of 
Governmentwide Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-25236 Filed 11-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-EP-P