FAR 25.408—Procedures.
Plain-English Summary
FAR 25.408 explains the procedures contracting officers must follow when a procurement is covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or a free trade agreement (FTA). It ties those procurements to the general FAR requirements for publicizing and synopsis timing, and it adds trade-agreement-specific safeguards to ensure foreign products and suppliers from eligible countries are not excluded through hidden or unnecessary solicitation restrictions. The section also requires solicitations to state that offers must be submitted in English and in U.S. dollars, which helps standardize competition and evaluation across international offerors. In addition, it requires notice to unsuccessful offerors from WTO GPA or FTA countries under the applicable FAR award-notification procedures. Finally, it points readers to subpart 25.5 for the detailed evaluation rules and examples that govern how to assess offers under these trade agreements in practice.
Key Rules
Apply publicizing rules
When the WTO GPA or an FTA applies, the contracting officer must follow FAR 5.203 on publicizing and response time and FAR 5.207 on preparing and transmitting synopses. This ensures the solicitation is advertised and timed in a way that satisfies both general competition requirements and trade-agreement obligations.
Do not exclude eligible products
The contracting officer may not insert technical requirements solely to prevent the acquisition of eligible products. Specifications must be legitimate, mission-related, and not designed as a disguised barrier to products or suppliers covered by the trade agreement.
Require English and U.S. dollars
Solicitations must state that offers are to be submitted in English and in U.S. dollars. The section points to standard FAR clauses or instruction provisions that implement this requirement in sealed bidding and negotiated acquisitions.
Notify unsuccessful offerors
Unsuccessful offerors from WTO GPA or FTA countries must receive notice in accordance with FAR 14.409-1 or 15.503, as applicable. This preserves the required post-award communication process for covered foreign offerors.
Use subpart 25.5 for evaluation
This section does not contain the full evaluation methodology; instead, it directs contracting officers to subpart 25.5 for the detailed procedures and examples. Those rules govern how to evaluate offers under the trade-agreement framework.
Responsibilities
Contracting Officer
Determine whether the WTO GPA or an FTA applies, then follow the required publicizing, synopsis, solicitation, and notice procedures. The contracting officer must also avoid restrictive technical requirements aimed at excluding eligible products and must ensure the solicitation requires English-language and U.S.-dollar offers.
Offerors
Submit offers in English and in U.S. dollars when the solicitation so requires. Eligible foreign offerors should also rely on the required notice process if they are unsuccessful.
Agency
Support compliance with trade-agreement procurement rules by using proper solicitation templates, synopsis procedures, and award-notification processes. Agencies must ensure their acquisition practices do not create unnecessary barriers to eligible products or suppliers.
Practical Implications
This section is mainly about making sure trade-agreement procurements are open, properly publicized, and not quietly narrowed to favor domestic products.
A common pitfall is using technical specifications that appear neutral but are really written to exclude eligible foreign products; that can create compliance problems and protest risk.
Another frequent issue is forgetting to require English and U.S. dollars in the solicitation, which can complicate evaluation and award administration.
Contracting officers should also make sure the correct post-award notice procedures are used for unsuccessful foreign offerors, since the notice rules differ depending on whether the procurement is sealed bidding or negotiated acquisition.
Because this section points to subpart 25.5 for evaluation details, users should not treat 25.408 as a complete evaluation rule set; it is a procedural gateway to the more detailed trade-agreement evaluation framework.
Official Regulatory Text
(a) If the WTO GPA or an FTA applies (see 25.401 ), the contracting officer must- (1) Comply with the requirements of 5.203 , Publicizing and response time; (2) Comply with the requirements of 5.207 , Preparation and transmittal of synopses; (3) Not include technical requirements in solicitations solely to preclude the acquisition of eligible products; (4) Specify in solicitations that offerors must submit offers in the English language and in U.S. dollars (see 52.214-34 , Submission of Offers in the English Language, and 52.214-35 , Submission of Offers in U.S. Currency, or paragraph (c)(5) of 52.215-1 , Instruction to Offerors-Competitive Acquisitions); and (5) Provide unsuccessful offerors from WTO GPA or FTA countries notice in accordance with 14.409-1 or 15.503 . (b) See subpart 25.5 for evaluation procedures and examples.