IV.  Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration certify that this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., because this rule will only have impact on an offeror that is engaging in an activity for which sanctions may be imposed under section 5 of the Iran Sanctions Act or that is exporting sensitive technology to Iran. This rule will have little effect on domestic small business concerns, because such dealings with Iran are already generally prohibited under U.S. law. Due to current restrictions on trade with Iran, domestic entities are generally prohibited from engaging in activity that would cause them to be subject to the procurement bans described in this rule (see e.g., Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control regulations at 31 CFR part 560). Accordingly, it is expected that the number of domestic entities, both large and small, significantly impacted by this rule will be minimal, if any.

Although this rule mainly affects foreign entities, the Regulatory Flexibility Act is for the protection of domestic small entities, not foreign entities. For the definition of "small business", the Regulatory Flexibility Act refers to the Small Business Act, which in turn allows the Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator to specify detailed definitions or standards (5 U.S.C. 601(3) and 15 U.S.C. 632(a)). The SBA regulations at 13 CFR 121.105 discuss who is a small business: "(a)(1) Except for small agricultural cooperatives, a business concern eligible for assistance from SBA as a small business is a business entity organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, and which operates primarily within the United States or which makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor." Therefore, the impact assessment does not include the impact on foreign entities.