“Buy American” rules at center of USAID contracting dispute

Published 24 October 2006

Rapiscan and Smiths Detection complain about losing an X-ray contract with Chemonics after deal goes to AS&E in partnership with a Chinese firm; deal is legal, but seems to violate spirit of “buy American rules”

The dispute over the Dubai Ports deal has settled down, but the “buy American” attitude is as strong as ever — at least among homeland security companies who, like those is many industries, are seeing manufacturing jobs move overseas. Consider the case of Washington, D.C.-based Chemonics, currently in the thick of controversy for allegedly dismissing the bids of two American companies from a USAID-funded project and accepting instead those of companies with partnership interests in China. Needless to say, the rejected companies