The Trump administration’s actions on foreign trade has dominated the news cycle for weeks now, largely due to the tariffs announced on foreign goods. However, the scope of the administration’s “America First Trade Policy” goes beyond just foreign tariffs. It is a set of Executive Orders (EO) that utilize existing legislation, namely the Buy American Act (BAA), to change the way that the federal government procures goods and services, with an emphasis on prioritizing domestic goods over foreign goods.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)—the federal government’s ultimate guide for acquisition—is a 2,000+ page rulebook (some may use as a doorstop it’s so large) that has become a hot topic of conversation in the Trump Administration. A recent Executive Order (EO) directs relevant procurement officials to review the FAR and come up with FAR 2.0 within 180 days. The order also requests a thorough review of the federal procurement system to see where it can be made more streamlined and efficient.

Take a moment to think about all the sensitive information the United States federal government has access to: tax returns, Social Security numbers, medical information. Handling this trove of data makes cybersecurity perhaps more important for the federal government than any other entity. Recognizing this, the federal government has created programs like CMMC and FedRAMP.

A lot of GSA Schedule contractors think they can only sell their products and services to the federal government, but did you know you can sell to state, local, educational, and tribal entities too? Under certain state and local programs, you can offer the same products and services you sell to these entities, greatly expanding the marketplace for your company. One of the most widely used programs is Cooperative Purchasing, which applies to IT and Security and Protections contractors.

In the commercial world, we’re always searching for ways we can break into new business and gain different types of buyers. This is done in the government world too, but contractors often think they are limited to U.S. agencies. This isn’t necessarily true. International organizations, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), are actively releasing opportunities to U.S. contractors. Especially now that NATO is ramping up military spending, we can see an increase in opportunities related to defense. Read on to learn about contracting with NATO and how you can diversify your govcon business.

On Monday, March 24th, the GSA Press Office released a notification that the General Services Administration (GSA) will be implementing a new initiative to “rightsize” the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program. This effort to “rightsize” follows suit with recent policy changes and the Trump Administration’s overall goal to eliminate waste, improve efficiency in operations, and ultimately save the taxpayer money. Let’s explore what this means for your GSA Schedule and how you can prepare.