Eligibility requirements for companies and joint ventures.

§ 296.5 Eligibility requirements for companies and joint ventures. Companies and joint ventures must be eligible in order to receive funding under the Program and must remain eligible throughout the life of their awards. (a) A company shall be eligible to receive an award from the Program only if: (1) The company is a small-sized or medium-sized business that is incorporated in the United States and does a majority of its business in the United States; and (2) Either (i) The company is a United States owned company; or (ii) The company is owned by a parent company incorporated in another country and the Program finds that: (A) The company's participation in TIP would be in the economic interest of the United States, as evidenced by investments in the United States in research, development, and manufacturing (including, for example, the manufacture of major components or subassemblies in the United States); significant contributions to employment in the United States; and agreement with respect to any technology arising from assistance provided by the Program to promote the manufacture within the United States of products resulting from that technology, and to procure parts and materials from competitive United States suppliers; and (B) That the parent company is incorporated in a country which affords to United States-owned companies opportunities, comparable to those afforded to any other company, to participate in any joint venture similar to those authorized to receive funding under the Program; affords to United States-owned companies local investment opportunities comparable to those afforded to any other company; and affords adequate and effective protection for the intellectual property rights of United States-owned companies. (b) NIST may suspend a company or joint venture from continued assistance if it determines that the company, the country of incorporation of the company or a parent company, or any member of the joint venture has failed to satisfy any of the criteria contained in paragraph (a) of this section, and that it is in the national interest of the United States to do so. (c) Members of joint ventures that are companies must be incorporated in the United States and do a majority of their business in the United States and must comply with the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section. For a joint venture to be eligible for assistance, it must be comprised as defined in § 296.2.