Trade Agreements Act of 1979

The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA), Pub.L. 96–39, 93 Stat. 144, enacted July 26, 1979, codified at 19 U.S.C. ch. 13 (19 U.S.C. §§ 2501–2581), is an Act of Congress that governs trade agreements negotiated between the U.S. and other countries under the Trade Act of 1974. It provided the implementing legislation for the Tokyo Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The stated purposes of the TAA are:

1. to approve and implement the trade agreements negotiated under the Trade Act of 1974;
2. to foster the growth and maintenance of an open world trading system;
3. to expand opportunities for the commerce of the United States in international trade; and
4. to improve the rules of international trade and to provide for the enforcement of such rules, and for other purposes.

The TAA can restrict procurement of goods and services for federal contracts, if the program management office decides to check TAA compliance. In many ways the TAA supersedes the Buy American Act, because the TAA allows the President to waive the Buy American Act under certain conditions. Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 25.4 includes guidance for TAA compliance. In general, a product is "TAA compliant" if it's made in the United States or a "Designated Country." Designated Countries include:

1. those with a free trade agreement with the US (e.g., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, etc.);
2. countries that participate in the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA), including Japan and many countries in Europe;
3. a least developed country (e.g., Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Laos, Ethiopia, and many others);
4. Caribbean Basin countries (Aruba, Costa Rica, Haiti and others).

Notably absent from the list is the People's Republic of China. A full list of Designated Countries is in FAR 25.003.