Category Archives: Statutes and Regulations

Back to Basics: Trade Agreements Act

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The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) and its companion, the Buy American Act (BAA), both set policies for a preference for increased domestic purchases by the federal government and its contractors. However, the TAA is designed as kind of a counterweight to the BAA. The BAA (passed in 1933), “the first of the major domestic content restriction laws, requires federal agencies to apply a price preference for ‘domestic end products’ and use ‘domestic construction materials’ for covered contracts performed in the United States.” So, the BAA encourages use of US-produced goods.

The TAA, on the other hand, waives some of those BAA requirements for goods coming out of certain favored countries that have trade agreements with the US. In other words, the TAA puts items from those favored countries on an even playing field with the US items. The TAA has some other unique aspects, including a “substantial transformation” test to determine if something is an end product.

In this post, we discuss the basics of the TAA.

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BREAKING: Department of War Suspends Introduction of Phase Two of CMMC

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Last year, we noted in a couple posts that the federal government had finally began implementation of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program. Apparently, however, the government has concluded that a pause is needed on further implementation due to what it describes as structural issues with the program. On July 13, 2026, the Department of War (DoW)[1] announced that it is suspending the introduction of Phase Two of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program. We explore that decision in this post.

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COFC: Limitation on Subcontracting Certification Trips Up Contractor Where Solicitation Requires it to be Signed and Attached

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When it comes to federal contracting, there are parts that are very detail-oriented.  Countless signatures for countless certifications. We certainly empathize with contractors on this aspect of federal contracting. But just because we are empathetic does not mean that a contractor can ignore such requirements. In a recent decision, Revelations Counseling & Consulting, LLC v. United States, 180 Fed. Cl. 721 (2026), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) made it very clear: Where the solicitation says sign the certification and include it in the proposal, sign it and include it in the proposal. Anything less and not only should you expect a rejection, the agency is often required to reject the proposal. In this case, the certification was a VA limitations on subcontracting clause that has cropped up multiple times lately in our practice and is an important part of small business contracting. We look at that decision today.

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Formal Revolution: FAR Council Releases Proposed Formal Rules to Start RFO Rulemaking Process

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The FAR Council has released its first batch of proposed rules to amend the Federal Register to implement the changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement the executive order on Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement. In this post, we will provide an overview of how the RFO is being implemented as part of the formal rulemaking process. Overall, the proposed regulation seems to follow the vast majority of the proposed language that was already issued under the RFO. We’ve discussed some of those changes in past blog posts. For background, our earlier posts regarding various aspects of the RFO can be found here: Executive Order, Overview of FAR 2.0, FAR Part 6, FAR Part 19 and the Once 8(a) Rule under Part 19, FAR Part 12, FAR Part 15, FAR Part 33, . But this post notes some changes as compared to the original version of the RFO.

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Breaking: SBA Proposes to Remove Social Disadvantage Presumption for 8(a) Program

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SBA is proposing to amend its 8(a) Program rules to “remove the rebuttable presumption that individuals belonging to certain designated groups are socially disadvantaged and set forth revised standards for individuals establishing social disadvantage.” This proposed rule continues the trend that has been building since the Ultima decision in 2023. In 2023, a federal court said that the rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage under the 8(a) is unconstitutional as it violates the right to equal protection. Based on that decision, SBA stopped relying on the presumption of social disadvantage. Three years later, SBA is proposing to formally eliminate any mention of the presumption from the regulations. SBA would replace the individual social disadvantage narrative with a test that looks to whether a person experienced discrimination on the basis of race through programs like affirmative action.

Here are some key points from the proposed rule.

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Federal Circuit Refuses to Apply Stricter Injunctive Relief Test to GAO Stays

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We have noted in past posts that, in some cases, it may make sense to protest a solicitation evaluation or award decision at GAO simply to get a stay on the award. This is because, if you meet certain deadlines, a stay of award and performance is automatically placed on the procurement for the duration of the protest. Now, there are circumstances in which an agency can override this stay, but the burden is on the agency to show such an override is necessary. The Federal Circuit confirmed this is the case in Life Science Logistics, LLC v. United States, 172 F.4th 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2026), in which an agency tried to get the higher burden for a preliminary injunction placed on GAO protesters. This decision suggests that agencies may think more carefully about attempting overrides of stays going forward.

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Back to Basics: Novation Agreements (and Name Changes)

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Our latest installment of our Back to Basics series explores novation agreements and their related cousin name change agreements. A novation agreement is needed when a contractor is transferring (or assigning) federal government contracts to another company. The government has discretion in approving such a transfer, and this post will explore how that process works.

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