§302 Award of Contracts

Summary

For building, fixing, or changing U.S. diplomatic sites abroad when the cost is estimated above $5,000,000, the Secretary of State must limit who can win the contract. After the Secretary finds there will be enough competition, bids may be limited to (1) American-owned firms and (2) firms from countries that give U.S. bidders similar access for like projects. The Secretary can allow or require local (host-country) firms when an international agreement or the host country’s law requires it, or when it’s needed for good relations or to finish the project. Laws about business licensing in the host country do not count as limits on access. To judge competition, the Secretary publishes the project in advance and must get notices from at least two responsible bidders who plan to bid. If competition is not adequate, the Secretary can ignore the limits above. For that competition test, bids from American-owned firms are reduced by 10 percent. To qualify as American-owned, a bidder must show it did similar work in the U.S. or at a U.S. embassy/consulate and must either be more than 50% owned by U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or have been incorporated in the U.S. for more than three years and have U.S. citizens or permanent residents in more than half of its U.S. professional and manager jobs. Qualification is decided when bids are requested. Contracts for foreign missions inside the U.S. must follow the same rules or go to nationals of the mission’s country who are allowed entry. The Secretary of State has the final say on these decisions, and the rules stop applying once there are agreed international rules for bidding on construction.