Change will allow GSA schedule contracts to include products manufactured in Taiwan.
AUSTIN, TX. - U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab today warmly welcomed Taiwan’s accession to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). This is big news for GSA Schedule contract holders. This means that companies will now be able to sell products manufactured in Taiwan on their GSA Schedule.
Ambassador Schwab said, "We are very pleased that we have been able to work closely with Taiwan to achieve this major market-opening result. This is a culmination of many years of hard work."
Under the agreement, the US will open its government procurement market to suppliers from Taiwan. This will be a significant change for GSA contract holders, who were not able to sell products made in Taiwan before this change was made. This can expand their catalog of items offered greatly. To the Taxpayers, the change allows the Federal agencies to purchase from a larger catalog of items of which can potentially offer a lower price than a catalog from countries with smaller manufacturing process and higher costs.
GSA Schedules (also referred to as Multiple Award Schedules and Federal Supply Schedules) Program, GSA establishes long-term government-wide contracts with commercial firms to provide access to over 11 million commercial supplies (products) and services that can be ordered directly from GSA Schedule contractors.
This change now makes Taiwan a Trade Agreements, or TAA< authorized company. GSA Schedule holders will still need to get a letter of supply from manufacturers
The stated purposes of the TAA - Trade Agreements 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.[1]
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.
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