Eligibility for award of contracts under this chapter or of any other contract by the Secretary of State, including lease-back or other agreements, the purpose of which is to obtain the construction, alteration, or repair of buildings and grounds abroad, when estimated to exceed $5,000,000, including any contract alternatives or options, shall be limited, after a determination that adequate competition will be obtained thereby, to (1) American-owned bidders and (2) bidders from countries which permit or agree to permit substantially equal access to American bidders for comparable diplomatic and consular building projects, except that participation may be permitted by or limited to host-country bidders where required by international agreement or by the law of the host country or where determined by the Secretary of State to be necessary in the interest of bilateral relations or necessary to carry out the construction project.

Generally applicable laws and regulations pertaining to licensing and other qualifications to do business in the country in which the contract is to be performed shall not be deemed a limitation of access for purposes of this section.

(1) Generally applicable laws and regulations pertaining to licensing and other qualifications to do business in the country in which the contract is to be performed shall not be deemed a limitation of access for purposes of this section.

(2) For purposes of determining competitive status, bids qualifying under subsection (a)(1) shall be reduced by 10 per centum.

(3) A determination of adequacy of competition for purposes of subsection (a) shall be made after advance publication by the Secretary of State of the proposed project, and receipt from not less than two prospective responsible bidders of intent to submit a bid or proposal. If competition is not determined to be adequate, contracts may be awarded without regard to subsection (a) and this subsection.

(4) Bidder qualification under subsection (a) shall be determined on the basis of nationality of ownership, the burden of which shall be on the prospective bidder. Qualification under subsection (a)(1) shall require evidence of (A) performance of similar construction work in the United States or at a United States diplomatic or consular establishment abroad, and (B) either (i) ownership in excess of fifty percent by United States citizens or permanent residents, or (ii) incorporation in the United States for more than three years and employment of United States citizens or permanent residents in more than half of the corporation’s permanent full-time professional and managerial positions in the United States.

(5) Qualification under this section shall be established on the basis of determinations at the time bids are requested.

Contracts for construction, alteration, or repair in the United States for or on behalf of any foreign mission (as defined in section 202(a)(4) [1] of title II of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 4302(a)(4)) may, pursuant to the authority of that title [22 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.], only be awarded to or performed by bidders qualifying under subsection (a) (1) or (2) or by nationals of the country for which the contract is being performed who are granted the right of entry into the United States for that purpose.

Determinations under this section shall be committed to the discretion of the Secretary of State.

This section shall cease to be effective when the Secretary of State determines that there are internationally-agree-upon [2] rules in effect on bidding for construction contracts.

(May 7, 1926, ch. 250, § 11, as added Pub. L. 98–164, title I, § 136, Nov. 22, 1983, 97 Stat. 1029; amended Pub. L. 107–228, div. A, title II, § 206(a), Sept. 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 1364.)