On December 28, 2017, the Defense Acquisition Regulations System, Department of Defense (DoD) published in the Federal Register a final rule [Docket DARS-2017-0020] amending the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to add Latvia as a qualifying country. On April 10, 2017 the US Secretary of Defense and the Latvian Minister of Defense signed a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement. On the same day, the US Secretary of Defense made a determination and findings that it is inconsistent with the public interest to apply the restrictions of the Buy American Act to the acquisition of articles, materials, and supplies, produced or manufactured in the Republic of Latvia. The agreement removes discriminatory barriers to procurements of supplies and services produced by industrial enterprises of the other country to the extent mutually beneficial and consistent with national laws, regulations, policies, and international obligations. This agreement does not cover construction or construction material. Latvia is already a designated country under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
