NMR waivers a loophole for China goods: CGP

      While the Buy American Act and Trade Agreements Act aim to restrict procurements of critical supplies from non-allied foreign sources, a loophole exists when a waiver of the Non-Manufacturer Rule (NMR) is issued for a small business set-aside procurement, Roger Waldron, president of the Coalition for Government Procurement, wrote in a recent blog.

      An NMR waiver for a small business set-aside is issued when there are no domestic small business manufacturers. Such a waiver allows a small business dealer to supply the product without regard to supplier size or location.

      An NMR waiver in such cases provides “back door access to the federal market for goods that are made in China,“ Waldron wrote on July 22. “In so doing, it disadvantages the government’s domestic supply chain and undermines our allies’ supply chain capabilities.”

      In contrast, for TAA procurements, offerors must certify that products are US-made or made in designated countries.

      “The time is now to apply the TAA, consistent with the regulatory thresholds, to small business set-aside procurements where there is a waiver of the NMR,” Waldron wrote.

Read more:
Waldron blog: https://bit.ly/3cL1k9e

Final Polaris SB RFPs coming in September

      GSA announced plans to issue the final two solicitations for Polaris small business pools in September. The two pools will be for HUBZone and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small businesses.

      GSA anticipates that the HUBZone and SDVOSB solicitations will be similar, although not identical, to the Small Business and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Pools, the agency said in a notice on Interact.

Read more at:
Interact notice: https://bit.ly/3OAQxvc

Senate bill on Identifying vendors’ foreign work

      Several US senators have drafted a bill to require consulting firms contracting with federal agencies to disclose previous work for foreign adversaries. The consulting firms would need to disclose any active contracts, and contracts within the last five years, with Russia, China and Iran. Penalties for failure to disclose include possible debarment. Sponsors include Sens. Joni Ernst, R-IA; Gary Peters, D-MI; and Maggie Hassan, D-NH.

Inside this edition:

Small biz scorecard for FY2021

Why HUBZone awards never reach 3% goal

DUNS-to-UEI transition snafus

SBA’s rule for veteran certs

Displaced workers rule pending

House NDAA’s small biz items

Plastic waste initiative

Final rule on past perf rating

Column: Transitioning DUNS to UEI -- Elevating Government Contract Service Tickets and Sharing Your Questions

Washington Insider:

Coronavirus Update