Trade Agreements Act of 1979
Encyclopedia
The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA), , codified at , is an Act of Congress
that governs trade agreements negotiated between the U.S. and other countries under the Trade Act of 1974
. It provided the implementing legislation for the Tokyo Round of multilateral trade agreements.
The stated purposes of the TAA are:
The TAA can restrict procurement of goods and services for federal contracts
, if the program management office decides to check TAA compliance. In many ways the TAA supersedes the Buy American Act
, because the TAA allows the President to waive the Buy American Act under certain conditions. Federal Acquisition Regulations
(FAR) Subpart 25.4 includes guidance for TAA compliance. In general, a product is "TAA compliant" if it's made in the United States or a "Designated Country." Designated Countries include:
Notably absent from the list is the People's Republic of China
. A full list of Designated Countries is in FAR 25.003.
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
that governs trade agreements negotiated between the U.S. and other countries under the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
. It provided the implementing legislation for the Tokyo Round of multilateral trade agreements.
The stated purposes of the TAA are:
- to approve and implement the trade agreements negotiated under the Trade Act of 1974;
- to foster the growth and maintenance of an open world trading system;
- to expand opportunities for the commerce of the United States in international trade; and
- to improve the rules of international trade and to provide for the enforcement of such rules, and for other purposes.
The TAA can restrict procurement of goods and services for federal contracts
Government procurement
Government procurement, also called public tendering or public procurement, is the procurement of goods and services on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency...
, if the program management office decides to check TAA compliance. In many ways the TAA supersedes the Buy American Act
Buy American Act
The Buy American Act passed in 1933 by Congress and signed by President Hoover on his last full day in office , required the United States government to prefer U.S.-made products in itspurchases...
, because the TAA allows the President to waive the Buy American Act under certain conditions. Federal Acquisition Regulations
Federal Acquisition Regulations
The Federal Acquisition Regulation is the principal set of rules in the Federal Acquisition Regulation System. This system consists of sets of regulations issued by agencies of the Federal government of the United States to govern what is called the "acquisition process"; this is the process...
(FAR) Subpart 25.4 includes guidance for TAA compliance. In general, a product is "TAA compliant" if it's made in the United States or a "Designated Country." Designated Countries include:
- those with a free trade agreement with the US (e.g., CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, etc.); - countries that participate in the World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA), including JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and many countries in Europe; - a least developed country (e.g., AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and many others); - Caribbean BasinCaribbean BasinThe Caribbean Basin is generally defined as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf coast, then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. This region includes the islands of the archipelago of the West Indies...
countries (ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and others).
Notably absent from the list is the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. A full list of Designated Countries is in FAR 25.003.
External links
- Federal Acquisition Regulations, Part 25—Foreign Acquisition