Faced with allegations of “failed compliance,” GSA is taking steps to ensure that all products on Schedule are certified products of the United States or other Trade Agreement Act (TAA) compliant countries.
GSA alerted contract holders in a letter sent on May 5, 2016, that they had until May 12, 2016, (one week) to provide their compliance with the TAA.
A main issue Congress allegedly faced was a “lack of integrity” within the GSA process amongst schedule holders and contractors. For instance, one of the main accusations that congress has honed in on is the mislabeling products that were manufactured in non-TAA compliant countries.
Congressman Richard Hanna (R-NY), the Chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee, has been one of the more outspoken members of Congress in regards the GSA mislabeling of a products country of origin.
Rep. Hanna is keen on bringing back meaning to the phrase “Made in America.” He uses the example of flatware made in his district, which is the last remaining flatware manufacturer in the United States. However, if one was to search for flatware on GSAdvantage!, other products could be found boasting the “Made in America” slogan.
The Inspector Generals of both GSA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) were notified by the Congressman of the improperly labeled items on the GSA Schedule’s program. Rep. Hanna asked both agencies to review their processes to ensure accuracy, which resulted in GSA contract holders being alerted last Thursday.
Federal customers rely on GSA and the products listed on the GSAdvantage! website for all of their daily and long term purchasing needs. The threat of malpractice and deception amongst contractors and their products is something that Congress is taking seriously as we move forward.
Instances such as the above are one of the many reasons the GSA has decided to quickly and efficiently take steps to correct this issue.
GSA determined that each vendor under the effected Schedules will have to submit a spreadsheet verifying the Country of Origin for each product approved on your GSA contract. Additionally, vendors will need a certificate from any manufacturer on official letterhead verifying all products that are being supplied are TAA complaint. If any products are found to be non-TAA compliant, contractors are required to submit a delete modification to eliminate these products from their price lists, and in doing so removing them from the federal procurement marketplace.
Due to the importance of this initiative, the GSA set up a quick turnaround period for contractors to respond by the deadline.