BAA Compliant LED Lighting
BAA refers to the Buy American Act (4 U.S.C. & 10a-10d), which attempts to protect domestic labor by providing a preference for American goods is the major domestic preference statute governing procurement by the federal government. It was enacted in 1933 and has only been substantively amended four times in the succeeding years.
The act differentiates between manufactured and un-manufactured articles. An un-manufactured article will be deemed a domestic end product or construction material if it has been mined or produced in the United States.17Manufactured articles are considered domestic if they have been manufactured in the United States from components, “substantially all” of which have been mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States.18″Substantially all” means that the cost of foreign components does not exceed 50% of the cost of all components.
TAA refers to the Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. & 2501-2581), which is intended to foster fair and open international trade. TAA requires that the U.S. Government may acquire only “U.S. – made or designated country end products. This act requires that contractors must certify that each end product meets the applicable requirements.
End products are ‘those articles, materials, and supplies to be acquired for public use’.” This includes items which have been “substantially transformed” in the United States. GSA Schedule Contracts are subject to the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), meaning all products listed on the GSA Schedule Contract be manufactured or “substantially transformed” in a “designated country”.