What Is TAA?
The Trade Agreements Act (TAA) was created to promote fair trade across international borders with specific countries. Companies that work with products or services produced by foreign entities have to make sure they deal only with approved countries to comply with the TAA. The government of the United States has been mandated to only use products and services that have been produced in the United States or that come from countries that are TAA-compliant.
The purpose of the TAA is to encourage open and fair trade. Therefore, some of the countries excluded from the acceptable list engage in practices the United States considers unfair or unethical. Another objective of the TAA regulations is to make sure government agencies only acquire products or use services provided by Americans.
TAA regulations also apply to the General Services Administration (GSA) of the United States. This is an agency formed in 1949 and is in charge of overseeing the management of government real estate and buildings. Anything involved in the procurement of goods or services for the care of government buildings—including their digital infrastructure—must therefore comply with TAA guidelines. Fortinet TAA services and products conform to these guidelines.
TAA Compliance: Rules and Regulations
For a company, the most significant aspect of maintaining TSA compliance is to make sure it is dealing only with countries that are not on the list of disapproved countries. The list includes the following, in alphabetical order:
- China
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Malaysia
- Pakistan
- Russia
- Sri Lanka
One of the primary components of TAA regulations is the concept of goods being “substantially transformed.” In some cases, it is very difficult to source a necessary item or component from a country that is not on the TAA banned list. The country may specialize in that product or may make it available at a price that meets budgetary requirements. If that is the case, the product needs to be “substantially transformed.” This means the product is transformed into a new and significantly different product by changing key elements such as its name, physical attributes, or other elements of its makeup.
In some situations, a producer may need a product that has been put together in multiple countries. In this case, the requirement that the product be substantially transformed applies only to the last country the product was in prior to its entry into the United States.
For example, if a company in the U.S. is to manufacture paint, they could purchase the pigment from China, the binding agent from England, and additives from Iran. These will be combined with water from the company’s factory. The ingredients would then be shipped to their factory in the United States.
The additives from Iran and the pigment from China were sourced from two countries that are not TAA-compliant. However, when they reach the U.S., they are combined together. The end product, a bucket of paint, is very different from the elements that went into it. Therefore, the pigment from China and the additives from Iran would be considered substantially transformed, and the paint would be TAA-compliant.
On the other hand, if a car were manufactured in China, shipped to Detroit in the United States, and then painted there, it would not be TAA-compliant. Even though it is a different color, it has not been substantially transformed; it is still a car.
In addition, according to TAA requirements, at least 50% of the cost of assembly or production of the product must either originate from within the U.S. or one of the countries designated by TAA regulations. Some of these countries include:
- Australia
- Germany
- Canada
- South Korea
- Japan
- Mexico
- Singapore
- Afghanistan
- Cambodia
- Samoa
- Yemen
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Curacao
If a government organization purchases a vehicle produced by an American company, but more than half of the cost of making it originated in China, the purchase would be out of compliance with TAA regulations. However, if at least 50% of the cost of producing the vehicle occurred in Samoa, the purchase would be compliant because Samoa is on the approved list. Fortinet TAA products, in one way or another, satisfy TAA regulations.
Is Fortinet Compliant with TAA Regulations?
Fortinet is 100% compliant with TAA regulations. Everything Fortinet produces are G and USG products that comply with TAA rules. Fortinet TAA products are all either sourced from or have components produced in countries on the approved list—in proportions meeting TAA requirements.
Furthermore, Fortinet USG products only receive software, firmware, and security updates from servers based in the United States. If a customer from a federal agency in the U.S. needs support, such support is provided by U.S. citizens working out of a dedicated assistance center located in the United States.
