[Protest of Air Force Contract Award]

A firm protested the award of an Air Force contract. The protester contended that the awardee was acting as a sales and service outlet for a foreign company and that it had an unfair advantage over other bidders because the foreign firm was not subject to the same legal requirements imposed on domestic firms. The protester also contended that the awardee was "dumping," that is, selling at lower prices in the United States than in its own country in order to avoid the application of the Buy American Act differential. GAO stated that there is no Federal law which seeks to equalize the competitive advantage which a foreign firm may possess, other than the Buy American Act. Moreover, in this case, the awardee's bid was not subject to the Act because the foreign country is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and, as such, is exempted by an agreement from the Buy American Act restriction. Regarding the allegation of dumping, GAO stated that such an allegation is within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Treasury, not GAO. Accordingly, the protest was denied in part and dismissed in part.