[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 21 (Monday, May 31, 1993)]
[Pages 948-949]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Executive Order 12849--Implementation of Agreement With the European 
Community on Government Procurement

 May 25, 1993

    Whereas, the United States and the European Community (EC) have 
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding on Government Procurement 
(Agreement) that provides appropriate reciprocal competitive government 
procurement opportunities;

    Whereas, the commitments made in the Agreement are intended to 
become part of an expanded General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
Agreement on Government Procurement (GATT Code) and are an important 
step toward an expanded GATT Code;

    Whereas, as a result of these commitments, U.S. businesses will 
obtain increased access to EC member state procurement for U.S. goods 
and services;

    Whereas, I have determined that it is inconsistent with the public 
interest to apply the restrictions of the Buy American Act, as amended 
(41 U.S.C. 10a-10d), to procurement covered by the Agreement;

    Now, Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President 
by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, 
including section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and title III of 
the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C. 2511-2518), and 
in order to implement the Agreement, it is hereby ordered as follows:

    Section 1. In applying the provisions of the Buy American Act, the 
heads of the agencies listed in Annex 1, Parts A and B, of this order 
are requested, as of the date of this order, to apply no price 
differential between articles, materials, or supplies of U.S. origin and 
those originating in the member states of the EC.
    Sec. 2. For purposes of this order, the rule of origin specified in 
section 308 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended (19 U.S.C. 
2518), shall apply in determining whether goods originate in the member 
states of the EC.

    Sec. 3. This order shall apply only to solicitations, issued by 
agencies listed in Annex 1, Parts A and B, of this order, above the 
threshold amounts set forth in Annex 2.

    Sec. 4. This order shall apply to solicitations outstanding on the 
date of this order, except for those for which the initial deadline for 
receipt of bids or proposals has passed, and to all solicitations issued 
after the date of this order.

    Sec. 5. Except for procurements by the Department of Defense, the 
United States Trade Representative (USTR) shall be responsible for 
interpretation of the Agreement. The USTR shall seek the advice of the 
interagency organization established under section 242(a) of the Trade 
Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. 1872(a)) and consult with affected 
agencies, including the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.

    Sec. 6. This Executive order is effective immediately. Although 
regulatory implementation of this order must await revisions to the 
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), it is expected that agencies 
listed in Annex 1, Parts A and B, of this order will take all 
appropriate actions in the interim to implement those aspects of the 
order that are not dependent upon regulatory revision.

    Sec. 7. Pursuant to section 25 of the Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy Act, as amended (41 U.S.C. 421(a)), the Federal Acquisition 
Regulatory Council shall ensure that the policies established herein are 
incorporated in the FAR within 30 days from the date this order is 
issued.

                                            William J. Clinton
The White House,
May 25, 1993.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:25 a.m., May 26, 1993]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on May 
27.

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