49 U.S.C. § 50103 — Contract preference for domestic firms

(a) Definitions — (1) "Domestic firm" means a business entity incorporated in, and doing business in, the United States. (2) "Foreign firm" means any business entity that isn't a domestic firm. (b) Preference — Subject to (c) and (d), the FAA Administrator may award a contract tied to a grant made under section 44511, 44512, or 44513 to a domestic firm — even though competitive procedures would otherwise give it to a foreign firm — if: (1) the Administrator decides, and the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative agree, that the public interest requires giving the contract to the domestic firm, taking into account U.S. international obligations and trade relations; (2) the difference between the foreign firm's and domestic firm's bids is no more than 6 percent; (3) the domestic firm's final product will be fully assembled in the United States; and (4) at least 51 percent of the domestic firm's final product will be produced in the United States. (c) Nonapplication — Subsection (b) doesn't apply if (1) compelling national security considerations require that it not apply, or (2) the Trade Representative decides that awarding the contract would violate the multilateral trade agreements defined in section 3501(4) of title 19, or another international agreement the U.S. has joined. (d) Application to Certain Grants — This section applies only to contracts tied to grants under section 44511, 44512, or 44513 for which (1) section 48102(a), (b), or (d) authorized money for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1991 and September 30, 1992, and (2) a bid solicitation was issued after November 5, 1990. (e) Report — The Administrator must report to Congress on: (1) contracts covered by this section that were made with foreign firms in the fiscal years ending September 30, 1991 and September 30, 1992; (2) how many contracts met (b)'s requirements but that the Trade Representative decided would violate the multilateral trade agreements defined in section 3501(4) of title 19, or another international agreement; and (3) how many contracts were made under this section.