NEDA supports specialty metals legislation

The National Electronic Distributors Association (NEDA) today announced it is supporting the proposed Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) rule that would make the specialty metals acquisition restrictions inapplicable to commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) items.

In doing so, the distributor organization joined the Specialty Metals Availability Reform Team (SMART) Coalition in filing a letter of support for the proposed rule, which makes the specialty metals acquisition requirements in 10 USC 2533b inapplicable to the Department of Defense (DoD) when it comes to COTS items. And doing so could open up the electronics and materials supply chains for more business from the DoD.

Specifically, the DoD is proposing to amend DFARS to waive application of 10 U.S.C. 2533b for acquisitions of COTS items. 10 U.S.C.2533b was established by section 842 of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2007 and places restrictions on the acquisition of specialty metals not melted or produced in the United States.

The DoD argues that when it comes to COTS, 10 USC 2533b hampers its ability to access to the commercial marketplace. “Manufacturers make component purchasing decisions based on factors such as cost, quality, availability, and maintaining the state of the art—not the country in which specialty metals in the components were melted. In addition, many commercial items commonly acquired in large quantities by DoD, such as computers, commercial-off-the shelf engines, and semiconductors, may contain a small percentage of components made of specialty metals, subjecting the manufacturers to costly and burdensome, if not impossible, tracking requirements,” the DoD’s proposed rule reads.

NEDA has been championing this cause for a while now for the electronic components industry. In 2006, it worked to successfully push for reform of Berry Amendment legislation that prohibited DoD contractors and suppliers from incorporating specialty metals into military parts and components unless they have been smelted in the United States.
 
For the full proposed rule “Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement; Waiver of Specialty Metals Restriction for Acquisition of Commercially Available Off-the-Shelf Items (DFARS Case 2007–D013),” see this page of the NEDA Web site.