Court of Federal Claims Reaffirms Agency Discretion in TAA Country-of-Origin Determinations for Pharmaceuticals

The Court also declined to extend the scope of the Federal Circuit’s 2020 Acetris decision which would have conflated “manufacturing” and “substantial transformation.” Because the VA found that Bryant Ranch’s tablets complied with the TAA, the VA awarded the contract to Bryant Ranch. The Court found as reasonable the VA’s conclusion that substantial transformation of the Hydroxychloroquine occurred in Taiwan, where the key ingredient—the API—was made. The opinion confirms that contracting officers are expected to perform independent, fact-intensive analyses of where substantial transformation occurs. The opinion confirms that contracting officers are expected to perform independent, fact-intensive analyses of where substantial transformation occurs.