Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program (FB4P)

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) of 2002 required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create procurement preferences for biobased products which are applicable to all U.S. federal procurement. The first products that will be subject to this program were identified in July 2005. Additional items are being designated, and the complete list is available from the FB4P website noted below.

Federal agencies are required generally to purchase biobased products within these designated items where the purchase price of the procurement item exceeds US$10,000, or where the quantity of such items or their equivalents purchased the preceding fiscal year equalled US$10,000 or more.

Federal agencies are not required to purchase biobased products if such products:

• are not available within a reasonable time;
• fail to meet performance standards set forth in the applicable specifications, or the reasonable performance standards of the Federal agency; or
• are available only at an unreasonable price.

Domestic preference

The regulations implementing the biobased preference program under 7 CFR 2902.2 define biobased products as follows:

A product determined by USDA to be a commercial or industrial product (other than food or feed) that is composed, in whole or in significant part, of biological products or renewable domestic agricultural materials (including plant, animal, and marine materials) or forestry materials.

Subsequent amendments to 7 CFR 2902.4(b)(3) clarify that biobased products from any designated country would receive the same preference extended to U.S.-sourced biobased products.

2902.4 (b)(3) In implementing the preference program, Federal agencies shall treat as eligible for the preference biobased products from "designated countries," as that term is defined in section 5.003 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, provided that those products otherwise meet all requirements for participation in the preference program.

Designated countries include countries that have entered into specific trade agreements with the United States (such as NAFTA) or offer reciprocal equal treatment to U.S.-sourced goods. For the purposes of this program, products made from Canadian agricultural materials (including plant, animal, and marine materials) or forestry materials qualify for biobased procurement preferences.

Producers and vendors must register their products with USDA in order to qualify as an approved supplier of biobased products. More information on this process is available on the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program (FB4P) website.