Overview
This section prohibits the U.S. Government from contracting with entities that have engaged in activities contributing to violations of international arms control, nonproliferation, or disarmament treaties and agreements. It establishes a mandatory certification process for offerors to ensure compliance with 22 U.S.C. 2593e.
Key Rules
- Prohibition on Award: Contracting officers are forbidden from awarding, renewing, or extending contracts with entities identified in the System for Award Management (SAM) as excluded due to arms control violations.
- Individual Certification: For solicitations exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), offerors must certify they (and any entities they own or control) are not in violation of arms control commitments.
- Submission Requirement: Unlike most representations, this certification must be submitted specifically with each offer; it is not included in the annual SAM "reps and certs" update.
- Scope of Applicability: The rule applies to non-commercial acquisitions exceeding the SAT. It generally does not apply to the procurement of commercial products or commercial services.
- Severe Penalties: A false certification results in a mandatory minimum two-year period of suspension or debarment.
- Geographic Exception: Activities along major supply routes to active combat zones or contingency operations (such as specific countries supporting operations in Afghanistan) may be exempt.
Practical Implications
- Contractors must verify their status against the State Department’s annual report on arms control compliance to ensure they can accurately sign the required 52.209-13 provision.
- Proposal teams must take care to manually include this certification in their bid packages for non-commercial requirements, as the lack of a "unified" SAM certification for this provision makes it a common oversight that could impact eligibility.