The Defense Department is finalizing Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement provisions related to the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (PATPA). DoD’s Oct. 31 final rule makes minor changes to the interim rule adopted by the agency in November 2012 (see 12111510). Differences include the Duty-Free Entry clause, the Photovoltaic Devices-Certificate clause, and the Balance of Payments Program Certificate.

The Defense Department is adding Croatia as a new designated country in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) under the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement, in an Oct. 31 final rule. The move comes after Croatia joined the European Union on July 1. The EU is a party to the WTO GPA.

The Defense Department is amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to implement DoD policies on competitive acquisitions when the agency only gets one offer. The regulatory changes provide “additional exceptions,” and address requests for data other than certified cost or pricing data from the Canadian Commercial Corporation. The final rule is effective Oct. 31.

The Department of Defense issued a final rule amending Federal Acquisition Regulations to implement the U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement. The final rule, which takes effect June 21, is the same as the interim rule published in November 2012. That rule added Panama to the definition of “Free Trade Agreement country” throughout the FAR (see 12111921). The final rule is also being adopted by the General Services Administration and NASA.

The Department of Defense published its final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to reflect defense trade treaties between the U.S. and U.K. and the U.S. and Australia. The rule, effective June 17, streamlines export control regulations between the U.S. and Australia and the U.S. and the U.K., under specified circumstances. The final rule makes limited changes from DOD’s May 2012 proposed rule. The final rule includes an agreement between DOD and the U.K. Ministry of Defence to establish a joint management board to resolve determination issues, so companies can know whether items qualify for expedited export under the U.S.-U.K. treaty. The final rule also slightly revises the wording of DFARS 225.7902-4 to address the concern that program managers and contracting officers do not have authority to determine treaty eligibility.

The Department of Defense published a final rule amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to reflect the merger of three databases into one, effective May 16. The rule amends various DFARS subparts and various definitions to reflect the Department’s focus on using the System for Award Management database, which acts as a single source for vendor, contract award and reporting information. The three databases joined into SAM are: the Central Contractor Registration, Online Representations and Certification Application, and the Excluded Parties Listing System. The final rule updates DFARS Appendix 4, makes minor conforming changes, and also amends the following subparts:

The Defense Department issued four proposed rules making changes to the Defense Federal Regulation Supplement. Comments on all four rules are due July 15 and can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.

The Department of Defense published a final rule making minor technical amendments to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, effective April 12. The rule amends Part 215, which covers contracting by negotiation, to link to procedures in the PGI for uploading business clearance documentation in the Contract Business Analysis Repository. The rule also adds a note about guidance at PGI in Part 237, which covers service contracting.

The Defense Department adopted, without change, two May 2012 interim final rules implementing the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA) and the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) in the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The interim final rules classified Korea and Colombia as Free Trade Agreement countries, set thresholds for coverage, and implemented other provisions of the agreements (see 12052205.

The Defense Acquisition Regulations System is seeking comments on three regulations regarding information used by contract officers, said a Federal Register notice to be published March 12. The three regulations are: