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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 302. Award of contracts
(a) Eligibility limitation for construction, etc., abroad
Eligibility for award of contracts under this chapter or of any
other contract by the Secretary of State, including lease-back or
other agreements, the purpose of which is to obtain the
construction, alteration, or repair of buildings and grounds
abroad, when estimated to exceed $5,000,000, including any contract
alternatives or options, shall be limited, after a determination
that adequate competition will be obtained thereby, to (1)
American-owned bidders and (2) bidders from countries which permit
or agree to permit substantially equal access to American bidders
for comparable diplomatic and consular building projects, except
that participation may be permitted by or limited to host-country
bidders where required by international agreement or by the law of
the host country or where determined by the Secretary of State to
be necessary in the interest of bilateral relations or necessary to
carry out the construction project.
(b) Foreign laws and regulations; competitive status and adequacy;
bidder qualifications
(1) Generally applicable laws and regulations pertaining to
licensing and other qualifications to do business in the country in
which the contract is to be performed shall not be deemed a
limitation of access for purposes of this section.
(2) For purposes of determining competitive status, bids
qualifying under subsection (a)(1) of this section shall be reduced
by 10 per centum.
(3) A determination of adequacy of competition for purposes of
subsection (a) of this section shall be made after advance
publication by the Secretary of State of the proposed project, and
receipt from not less than two prospective responsible bidders of
intent to submit a bid or proposal. If competition is not
determined to be adequate, contracts may be awarded without regard
to subsection (a) of this section and this subsection.
(4) Bidder qualification under subsection (a) of this section
shall be determined on the basis of nationality of ownership, the
burden of which shall be on the prospective bidder. Qualification
under subsection (a)(1) of this section shall require evidence of
(A) performance of similar construction work in the United States
or at a United States diplomatic or consular establishment abroad,
and (B) either (i) ownership in excess of fifty percent by United
States citizens or permanent residents, or (ii) incorporation in
the United States for more than three years and employment of
United States citizens or permanent residents in more than half of
the corporation's permanent full-time professional and managerial
positions in the United States.
(5) Qualification under this section shall be established on the
basis of determinations at the time bids are requested.
(c) Contracts for construction, etc., in United States
Contracts for construction, alteration, or repair in the United
States for or on behalf of any foreign mission (as defined in
section 202(a)(4) (!1) of title II of the State Department Basic
Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4302(a)(4)) may, pursuant to the
authority of that title [22 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.], only be awarded
to or performed by bidders qualifying under subsection (a) (1) or
(2) or by nationals of the country for which the contract is being
performed who are granted the right of entry into the United States
for that purpose.
(d) Discretionary determinations by Secretary of State
Determinations under this section shall be committed to the
discretion of the Secretary of State.
(e) Termination of requirements
This section shall cease to be effective when the Secretary of
State determines that there are internationally-agree-upon (!2)
rules in effect on bidding for construction contracts.
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