22 U.S.C. § 302 — Award of contracts

(a) Eligibility limitation for construction, etc., abroad. When the Secretary of State — or anyone else under this chapter — awards a contract worth more than $5,000,000 to build, alter, or repair buildings and grounds abroad (including leases and contract options), only two kinds of bidders are normally eligible, once the government has decided there will be enough competition: (1) bidders owned by Americans, and (2) bidders from countries that let American bidders compete equally for similar diplomatic and consular projects there. Host-country bidders can compete too, or be the only ones allowed, when an international agreement requires it, the host country's law requires it, or the Secretary decides it's needed for good relations with that country or to get the project built. (b) Foreign laws and regulations; competitive status and adequacy; bidder qualifications. (1) A country's normal business-licensing laws don't count as blocking American access. (2) When judging whether there's enough competition, bids that qualify under (a)(1) get their price reduced by 10 percent for comparison purposes. (3) The Secretary of State must publicly announce the project in advance and get interest from at least two qualified bidders before deciding competition is adequate; if competition isn't adequate, the contract can be awarded without following subsection (a) at all. (4) A bidder must prove its nationality to qualify under (a)(1), showing it has built similar projects in the U.S. or at a U.S. diplomatic post abroad, and either that U.S. citizens or permanent residents own more than half the company, or that the company has been incorporated in the U.S. for over three years and U.S. citizens or permanent residents fill more than half its permanent, full-time professional and managerial jobs here. (5) Qualification is judged as of the time bids are requested. (c) Contracts for construction, etc., in United States. Contracts to build, alter, or repair buildings in the U.S. for a foreign mission may only go to bidders who qualify under (a)(1) or (2), or to nationals of the country the contract serves who have permission to enter the U.S. for that purpose. (d) Discretionary determinations by Secretary of State. All decisions under this section are left entirely to the Secretary of State's judgment. (e) Termination of requirements. This section stops applying once the Secretary of State decides that internationally agreed-upon rules for construction-contract bidding are in effect.