(a) When one of the following exceptions applies, the contracting officer may allow the contractor to acquire foreign construction materials without regard to the restrictions of the Buy American statute:

(1) Impracticable or inconsistent with public interest. The head of the agency may determine that application of the restrictions of the Buy American statute to a particular construction material would be impracticable or would be inconsistent with the public interest. The public interest exception applies when an agency has an agreement with a foreign government that provides a blanket exception to the Buy American statute.

(2) Nonavailability. The head of the contracting activity may determine that a particular construction material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality. The determinations of nonavailability of the articles listed at 25.104(a) and the procedures at 25.103(b)(1) also apply if any of those articles are acquired as construction materials.

(3) Unreasonable cost. The contracting officer concludes that the cost of domestic construction material is unreasonable in accordance with 25.204.

(4) Information technology that is a commercial item. The restriction on purchasing foreign construction material does not apply to the acquisition of information technology that is a commercial item, when using Fiscal Year 2004 or subsequent fiscal year funds (Section 535(a) of Division F, Title V, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004, and similar sections in subsequent appropriations acts).

(b) Determination and findings. When a determination is made for any of the reasons stated in this section that certain foreign construction materials may be used, the contracting officer must list the excepted materials in the contract. The agency must make the findings justifying the exception available for public inspection.

(c) Acquisitions under trade agreements. For construction contracts with an estimated acquisition value of $7,008,000 or more, see subpart 25.4.

[64 FR 72419, Dec. 27, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 36026, June 6, 2000; 67 FR 56123, Aug. 30, 2002; 69 FR 1053, Jan. 7, 2004; 70 FR 11743, Mar. 9, 2005; 71 FR 865, Jan. 5, 2006; 73 FR 10963, Feb. 28, 2008; 75 FR 38690, July 2, 2010; 75 FR 60267, Sept. 29, 2010; 77 FR 12934, Mar. 2, 2012; 78 FR 80380, Dec. 31, 2013; 79 FR 24209, Apr. 29, 2014; 80 FR 81895, Dec. 31, 2015; 83 FR 3398, Jan. 24, 2018; 85 FR 2618, Jan. 15, 2020]