Overview
FAR 25.104 provides a comprehensive list of specific articles that have been predetermined to be "nonavailable" in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality. This determination serves as a class justification for exempting these items from the domestic sourcing requirements of the Buy American Act.
Key Rules
- Automatic Exemption: The items listed in subsection (a) are officially exempt from Buy American Act restrictions under the nonavailability exception found in FAR 25.103(b)(1)(i).
- Diverse Categories: The list encompasses various categories, including raw materials (e.g., tin, chrome ore, rubber), agricultural products (e.g., vanilla beans, cocoa, spices), and specialized manufactured goods (e.g., certain microscope slide glass, foreign spare parts).
- Conditional Exceptions: Some exemptions are specific to the form of the item (e.g., "tea in bulk") or the lack of a domestic equivalent (e.g., "books... for which domestic editions are not available").
- Periodic Review: The list is not static; it must be published in the Federal Register for public comment at least once every five years to ensure the items remain unavailable domestically.
- Public Petitions: Individuals or organizations may submit unsolicited recommendations to delete items from the list at any time, provided they supply sufficient data and rationale to prove domestic availability.
Practical Implications
- Streamlined Procurement: Contracting officers and contractors do not need to conduct individual market research or seek specific waivers to purchase these foreign-made items, as the "nonavailability" determination has already been made at the federal level.
- Compliance Certainty: For goods containing these materials, contractors can safely source them from foreign markets without risking a Buy American Act violation, provided the items strictly match the descriptions in the FAR list.