What Countries Qualify Under the Buy American Act?

More than 100 foreign countries qualify under the Buy American Act, meaning their products can compete for U.S. federal contracts on the same footing as domestic goods. Qualification comes through four channels: the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, bilateral or regional free trade agreements with the United States, least developed country status, and Caribbean Basin designation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 19 USC 2511 – General Authority to Modify Discriminatory Purchasing Requirements Qualification is not automatic across every purchase, though. It applies only when a contract meets or exceeds a specific dollar threshold, and those thresholds vary by agreement.

WTO Government Procurement Agreement Countries

The GPA is a plurilateral treaty among 21 parties that opens each party’s government procurement market to suppliers from the others.2United States Trade Representative. WTO Government Procurement Agreement For U.S. contracts at or above the GPA thresholds, products from these countries are exempt from Buy American preferences.

The GPA parties, other than the United States, are:2United States Trade Representative. WTO Government Procurement Agreement

  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • The European Union and its 27 member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden
  • Hong Kong (China)
  • Iceland
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Republic of Korea
  • Liechtenstein
  • Republic of Moldova
  • Montenegro
  • The Netherlands with respect to Aruba
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Singapore
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan (Chinese Taipei)
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

The United Kingdom acceded to the GPA as a separate party after leaving the European Union and now appears independently.

U.S. Free Trade Agreement Partners

The United States has bilateral and regional free trade agreements whose government procurement chapters extend designated-country treatment to additional partners. Several of these countries are also GPA parties; their FTA status gives them a separate, often lower, qualifying threshold.

Countries covered by U.S. FTA procurement chapters:

  • Australia
  • Bahrain
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (through CAFTA-DR)
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Republic of Korea
  • Mexico (under the USMCA)
  • Morocco
  • Oman
  • Panama
  • Peru
  • Singapore

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020.3eCFR. 19 CFR Part 182 – United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement One detail commonly missed: the USMCA’s government procurement chapter covers only the United States and Mexico. Canada is not included in the USMCA procurement obligations, but Canadian products still qualify separately because Canada is a GPA party.

Least Developed Countries

Federal procurement rules extend designated-country treatment to products from least developed countries even when no bilateral trade agreement exists. The qualifying countries are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, and Zambia.4Acquisition.GOV. 52.225-5 Trade Agreements

Caribbean Basin Countries

A separate designation under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act covers the following countries:4Acquisition.GOV. 52.225-5 Trade Agreements

Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saba, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Not every product from these countries qualifies. Canned tuna, petroleum products, and some categories of textiles, footwear, and leather goods are excluded from Caribbean Basin treatment.4Acquisition.GOV. 52.225-5 Trade Agreements

What Makes a Product Qualify

Being from a listed country is only half the test. The product itself must either be wholly grown, produced, or manufactured in that country, or have been substantially transformed there into a new product with a different name, character, or use from the materials it came from.4Acquisition.GOV. 52.225-5 Trade Agreements A component shipped through a designated country without meaningful transformation does not qualify.

Dollar Thresholds That Trigger Qualification

Country qualification only takes effect once a contract reaches a minimum dollar value. Below the threshold, the Buy American Act applies in full regardless of the product’s origin. The thresholds are adjusted every two years. For 2026 and 2027:5Federal Register. Federal Acquisition Regulation – Trade Agreements Thresholds

WTO GPA Thresholds

  • Supplies and services: $174,000
  • Construction: $6,683,000

Free Trade Agreement Thresholds

Supply and service thresholds vary by partner:

  • $50,000: Israel (supplies only, under the Israeli Trade Act)
  • $100,000: Republic of Korea
  • $105,767: Australia, CAFTA-DR countries, Chile, Colombia, Mexico (under USMCA), and Singapore
  • $174,000: Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Panama, and Peru

Most FTA partners share a $6,683,000 construction threshold. Bahrain, Mexico (under USMCA), and Oman have a higher construction threshold of $13,749,689.5Federal Register. Federal Acquisition Regulation – Trade Agreements Thresholds

A $90,000 supply order for computer parts, as an example, falls below every trade agreement threshold. The Buy American Act applies in full to that purchase, and the product’s country of origin among the lists above makes no difference.

When a Foreign Product Can Be Bought Without Qualifying

Country qualification through trade agreements is not the only way foreign products end up on federal contracts. The Buy American Act itself contains three statutory exceptions that let an agency buy foreign goods on a case-by-case basis:6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 41 USC Chapter 83 – Buy American

  • Public interest. An agency head can waive the requirement when applying it would be inconsistent with the public interest. These waivers are relatively rare and typically target specific programs or geographic areas, such as federally funded projects in Pacific Island territories or on tribal lands.
  • Non-availability. When a product is not mined, produced, or manufactured domestically in sufficient quantity or satisfactory quality, the contracting officer can approve a foreign source, backed by documented market research.
  • Unreasonable cost. If the domestic product costs significantly more than a comparable foreign product, the agency can buy foreign. The evaluation adds a price premium to the foreign offer: 20 percent when the domestic offeror is a large business, or 30 percent when it is a small business. The domestic product is deemed unreasonably costly only if it still comes in above the foreign bid plus that premium.7Federal Register. Federal Acquisition Regulation – Amendments to the FAR Buy American Act Requirements

These exceptions are not country qualifications. A trade agreement waiver takes effect automatically once a covered contract meets the threshold. A statutory waiver requires an individual agency determination with documented justification for that specific purchase.