The designations are part of the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program, which was authorized by the 2002 Farm Bill. The effort was nicknamed the FB4P program, but now will be known as the BioPreferred” program in hopes of boosting its recognition among federal purchasing agents, USDA added.

As before, the newest proposed rule sets minimum biobased content for products to qualify for the procurement preference. For concrete and asphalt release fluids, which provide a lubricating barrier between those materials and the wood or metal container or form used to shape them, the proposed minimum biobased content is 87 percent.

For fluids used to reduce wear and friction on contact parts for cutting, drilling and tapping machinery, the proposed threshold is 64 percent. Only neat oils are included in this item, not water emulsions.

The biobased content for firearm lubricants, used to oil, clean and protect weapons from friction and wear, is proposed to be 49 percent.

In setting these limits, USDA’s hope is that biobased products will be able to compete with non-biobased ones in both performance and economics. Its practice has been to review and test a number of products in each item category, then set the minimum-content limit a few notches below the lowest of the qualifying products. For example, it tested a dozen cutting, drilling and tapping oils with biobased content ranging from 67 to 100 percent – then pegged the limit at 64 percent. This tactic gives federal agencies the broadest choice of products to purchase right away, Agriculture officials said.

The department stressed that all federal agencies and government contractors alike “are expressly subject to the procurement preference provisions.” However, certain government purchases are exempted, such as procurements for military equipment designed for combat or combat-related missions (which seems to blunt the opportunities for biobased firearm lubricants). Procurements for the space program are also exempt, as are any purchases by an agency that amount to less than $10,000 a year. Nor do agencies or contractors have to comply if biobased products cannot deliver the needed performance, or if their cost is “unreasonable.”

Other products covered in this latest rulemaking are bath and tile cleaners, floor strippers and de-icers (excluding those used by airports to de-ice aircraft and runways), plus non-fluid products such as biobased laundry products, clothing and durable films. The de-icers’ proposed biobased content is 97 percent.

The 2002 Farm Bill was passed by Congress expressly to promote the use of renewable products from U.S. farmers and ranchers. However, commenters quickly protested that limiting the government’s BioPreferred program to U.S.-made products – as originally intended- is a violation of trade treaties with partners such as NAFTA and the World Trade Organization.

That issue was clarified in the Aug. 17 rulemaking, USDA economist Marvin Duncan pointed out last month to Lube Report. He observed that the U.S. government is barred from treating its designated partners less favorably than its own domestic suppliers. So the door is open for products from Canada, Mexico and elsewhere to compete for the purchasing preference alongside of their U.S. counterparts. “Designated countries” qualifying for the BioPreferred programs are defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

A 60-day comment period for the current proposal ends Dec. 11, after which final rules will be published. Federal agencies then will have one year from the date of the final rulemaking to implement the biobased preferment in their procurement procedures.

The BioPreferred guidelines and a link to the Oct. 11 proposed rule can be found at www.usda.gov/biobased. For information about the program and rulemaking, contact Marvin Duncan of the USDA Office of the Chief Economist. E-mail: mduncan@oce.usda.gov.