Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 2.djvu/543

 PUBLIC LAW 100-418—AUG. 23, 1988

102 STAT. 1547

"(ii) the corporation is organized under the laws of the for e i ^ country or any subdivision, territory, or possession thereof; or "(E) in the case of a contractor or subcontractor who is a participant in a joint venture or a member of a partnership, any participant of the joint venture or partner meets any of the criteria in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of this paragraph. "(2)(A) For purposes of this section, except as provided in paragraph (1), a determination of whether a contractor or subcontractor is a citizen or national of a foreign country or is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by citizens or nationals of a foreign country shall be made in accordance with poUcy guidance prescribed by the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy after conducting one or more public hearings at which interested parties may present comments. Sections 556 and 557 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the conduct of any such hearing. "(B) l l i e Administrator shall include in the policy guidance prescribed under subparagraph (A) definitions, procedures, standards, and rules that, to the extent the Administrator considers appropriate and consistent with the applicability of such policy guidance to all services (other than construction services), is the same as or similar to the definitions, procedures, standards, and rules that the Administrator has developed and issued for the administration of section 109 of the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government Appropriations Act, 1988 (101 Stat. 1329-434). "(C) The policy guidance required by subparagraph (A) shall be prescribed not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection. "(3)(A) The Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy shall conduct an assessment of the current rules under this Act for making determinations of country of origin and alternatives to such rules. Such assessment shall identify and evaluate (i) reasonable alternatives to such rules of origin, including one or more alternative rules that require a determination on the basis of total cost, and (ii) the specific cost factors that should be included in determining toted cost. (B) In conducting the analysis, the Administrator shall consult and seek comment from representatives of United States labor and business, other interested United States persons, and other Federal agencies. The Administrator shall hold public hearings for the purpose of obtaining such comment, and a transcript of such hearings shall be appended to the report required by subparagraph (C). '(C) A report on the results of the analysis shall be submitted to Reports. the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Governmental Affairs and other appropriate committees of the Senate not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this subsection. Such report shall include proposed policy guidance or any recommended legislative changes on the factors to be used in making determinations of country of origin. "(h) As used in this section— "(1) the term 'Agreement' means the Agreement on Government Procurement as defined in section 308(1) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979; ' (2) the term 'signatory' means a party to the Agreement; and "(3) the term 'eligible product' has the meaning given such term by section 308(4) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 U.S.C. 2518(4)).".

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