In celebration of the release of the 6th Edition of the Government Contracts Compliance Handbook, we are sharing six essential tips for understanding and navigating Buy American compliance in government contracts. These...more
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana. As an example of this I present to you the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. If you are not familiar with this, it is worth taking a moment...more
On August 23, 2023, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued its notification of final guidance implementing Title IX of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) – the Build America, Buy...more
This article provides an overview of federal procurement laws and how the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) implement some of those commitments in government contracts. The FAR, found under 48 C.F.R. Part 25, comprises...more
Recently the Federal Trade Commission entered into a settlement under which Patriot LED must pay civil damages of nearly $158,000, plus a penalty of $2.96 million, for its alleged false marketing of lighting products as...more
On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“Infrastructure Act”), which provides for $550 billion in new federal spending on infrastructure in the United States over a...more
The FAR Council recently published its proposed rule to implement a part of President Biden’s January 28, 2021 Executive Order No. 14005 (EO 14005), which dictated certain revisions to the Buy American Act (BAA) regulations....more
A proposed amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) published on July 30, 2021 will “strengthen the impact of the Buy American Act” (“BAA”) over the next eight years, according to the Federal Register notice....more
As COVID-19 antibodies begin flooding the immune systems of most Americans, it is important to remember the important role that hygiene has played over the past fifteen months. For many, the risks and dangers of the pandemic...more
The United States Government is the world’s biggest single buyer, spending approximately $600 billion a year on purchases. Since 1933, with the passage of the Buy American Act, the federal government has, with varied degrees...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s February 10 decision in Acetris Health, LLC v. United States provides important guidance regarding the determination of a product’s country of origin, which is a gating issue...more
Trade Agreements Act compliance changed fundamentally three years ago. Or, so we thought on December 7, 2016, when the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”), the appellate body for country of origin determinations issued...more
On July 15, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (the “Council”) to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulations (“FAR”) to change the definition of foreign goods...more
On Thursday, August 8, 2019, the Department of Justice (“DoJ”) announced that Danish medical device company Ambu, Inc. (“Ambu”) will pay $3.3 million to settle False Claims Act (“FCA”) allegations that it violated the Trade...more
Few phrases sum up the Trump administration’s policy goals better than “Buy American.” We hear it in advertising; we hear it in the State of the Union; and we find it littered throughout government buying priorities. Here is...more
• The White House has issued a new Executive Order designed to promote the use of American-made products in all infrastructure projects receiving federal funding, another step in the Trump Administration's Buy American...more
Small businesses often enter into government contracts unaware of all the laws and regulations that may apply when selling to the government. One of the laws that is often overlooked is the Trade Agreement Act (TAA). ...more
Companies should include internal TAA compliance reviews in their overall manufacturing compliance programs. Every manufacturer of medical devices and pharmaceuticals that offers a product for sale to the federal...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently upheld a District Court’s dismissal of a False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against a federal government contractor in a case that will be of...more