Overview
This section outlines the application of the Israeli Trade Act to federal acquisitions, requiring most agencies to treat Israeli end products as domestic products for evaluation purposes when the contract value falls within a specific dollar range.
Key Rules
- Thresholds: Applies to supply acquisitions valued at $50,000 or more, up to the current World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA) threshold.
- Buy American Waiver: Covered agencies must evaluate offers of Israeli end products without applying the price penalties or restrictions typically required by the Buy American statute.
- Excluded Agencies: The Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Reclamation, Federal Housing Finance Board, and Office of Thrift Supervision are not bound by these specific evaluation requirements under this section.
- Foreign Product Status: While it grants preferences to Israeli goods, the Act does not strictly prohibit the purchase of other foreign end products.
Practical Implications
- Contracting officers must ensure that Israeli-made supplies are given "national treatment" (treated the same as U.S. domestic products) during the price evaluation process for mid-range acquisitions.
- Bidders offering Israeli end products gain a significant competitive advantage over other non-designated foreign offers because they bypass the Buy American percentage price increases.