BRYSON, Circuit Judge. BGT Holdings LLC appeals from a decision of the United States Court of Federal Claims (“the Claims Court”) dismissing its claims arising from the U.S. Navy’s with- holding of certain government-furnished equipment under a fixed-price contract. The dismissal followed the court’s ruling that BGT had contractually waived its claims of con- structive change through ratification, official change through waiver, and breach for failure to award an equita- ble adjustment. The court also held that BGT insuffi- ciently alleged a breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. We affirm the dismissal of the breach of good faith and fair dealing claim but vacate the court’s dis- missal of the remaining claims. I A In 2014, BGT contracted with the Navy to construct and deliver a gas turbine generator. The Navy agreed to supply certain government-furnished equipment (“GFE”) that BGT would use to construct the generator. Two of the GFE items identified in the contract—an exhaust collector and engine mounts—are relevant to this appeal because the Navy ultimately did not deliver those items to BGT. The withdrawal of those items and the Navy’s failure to compensate BGT for that withdrawal are the source of the dispute in this case. The contract incorporated various clauses from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”). For convenience, we cite to the FAR when referencing those contract clauses. One such clause, the “government property” clause, pro- vides as follows in relevant part:

Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 3 Filed: 12/23/2020

BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 3 (d) Government-furnished property. (1) The Government shall deliver to the Contractor the Government-furnished property described in this contract. . . . (2) The delivery and/or performance dates specified in this contract are based upon the expectation that the Government-furnished property will be suita- ble for contract performance and will be delivered to the Contractor by the dates stated in the con- tract. (i) If the property is not delivered to the Contractor by the dates stated in the contract, the Contracting Officer shall, upon the Contractor’s timely written request, consider an equitable adjustment to the contract. ... (3)(i) The Contracting Officer may by written no- tice, at any time— (A) Increase or decrease the amount of Govern- ment-furnished property under this contract; ... (C) Withdraw authority to use property. (ii) Upon completion of any action(s) under para- graph (d)(3)(i) of this clause, and the Contractor’s timely written request, the Contracting Officer shall consider an equitable adjustment to the con- tract. ... (i) Equitable adjustment. Equitable adjustments under this clause shall be made in accordance with the procedures of the Changes clause. However, Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 4 Filed: 12/23/2020 4 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES the Government shall not be liable for breach of contract for the following: (1) Any delay in delivery of Government-furnished property. (2) Delivery of Government-furnished property in a condition not suitable for its intended use. (3) An increase, decrease, or substitution of Gov- ernment-furnished property. 48 C.F.R. § 52.245-1. To summarize, subsection (d)(1) of the government property clause requires the Navy to deliver the designated GFE; subsection (d)(2)(i) provides that the Navy “shall con- sider” an equitable adjustment if it does not deliver the des- ignated GFE by the agreed-upon date; subsection (d)(3)(i) gives the Navy the right to modify its GFE commitments; and subsection (d)(3)(ii) provides that the Navy “shall con- sider” an equitable adjustment if it modifies those GFE commitments. Separately, subsection (i) requires that eq- uitable adjustments be made according to the procedures in the contract’s changes clause. Subsection (i) also pro- vides that neither the Navy’s modifications to its GFE com- mitments nor its untimely delivery of GFE will constitute a breach of the contract. The contract incorporates the standard FAR changes clause for fixed-price contracts, 48 C.F.R. § 52.243-1. The fixed-price changes clause covers the Navy’s modifications to the method of shipment, the method of packing, the place of delivery, and the “[d]rawings, designs, or specifications” for specially manufactured items. Id. The clause provides that if the Navy makes any of those modifications, the con- tracting officer “shall make an equitable adjustment.” Id. The contract also incorporates a changes clause from outside the FAR that defines “authorized changes” for the entire contract. That clause is unique to the Naval Surface Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 5 Filed: 12/23/2020 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 5 Warfare Center Carderock Division and is referred to as the NSWCCD changes clause. It states as follows: (a) Except as specified in paragraph (b) below, no order, statement, or conduct of Government per- sonnel who visit the Contractor’s facilities or in any other manner communicates with Contractor per- sonnel during the performance of this contract shall constitute a change under the “Changes” clause of this contract. (b) The Contractor shall not comply with any order, direction or request of Government personnel un- less it is issued in writing and signed by the Con- tracting Officer, or is pursuant to specific authority otherwise included as a part of this contract. The NSWCCD changes clause lists the contact infor- mation for the contracting officer, Mr. John Stefano, and declares that “[t]he Contracting Officer is the only person authorized to approve changes in any of the requirements of this contract.” The clause then warns that “any change at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer . . . will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract price to cover any increase in charges incurred as a result thereof.” B We recount the facts according to BGT’s factual allega- tions in its amended complaint, which we accept as true for purposes of the Navy’s motion to dismiss. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). A few months into the contract performance, the Navy procurement team—including Ms. Suzanne Onesti, the procurement manager—informed BGT that the Navy would not deliver the exhaust collector and engine mounts unless BGT provided a “cost savings” to the Navy, i.e., a decrease in the contract price commensurate with the Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 6 Filed: 12/23/2020 6 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES amount BGT would save by not having to procure the ex- haust collector and engine mounts on its own. When asked about cost savings at oral argument, neither the govern- ment nor BGT identified a contract provision giving the Navy the right to demand a cost savings in exchange for supplying the designated items of GFE. BGT declined to offer a cost savings for the exhaust col- lector and engine mounts that were to be provided as GFE. The Navy then notified BGT that the exhaust collector and engine mounts had been reallocated as fleet assets and would no longer be made available to BGT. To continue performing under the contract, BGT purchased those items on the commercial market at a cost of $610,775. BGT then submitted a request for an equitable adjustment for the cost of those items. In early 2017, BGT delivered the com- pleted gas turbine generator to the Navy. The Navy ac- cepted the generator but rejected BGT’s request for an equitable adjustment for the cost of the exhaust collector and engine mounts. According to BGT, the Navy’s request for a cost savings and the Navy’s final notice of GFE withdrawal were com- municated at the direction of the contracting officer, Mr. Stefano. BGT does not allege, however, that the contract- ing officer issued a signed order concerning either commu- nication. Instead, BGT alleges facts that circumstantially con- nect the contracting officer to the GFE negotiations. Ac- cording to BGT, the Navy instructed BGT to direct all communications to Navy employees Ms. Onesti and Ms. Carolyn McCloskey, “the conduits to the larger Navy team.” BGT also alleges that it was the “usual course of performance” for the contracting officer’s decisions to be communicated through Ms. Onesti or Ms. McCloskey. For example, Ms. Onesti communicated a directive that BGT should use its own testing data to size the water treatment system for the gas turbine. Mr. Stefano later Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 7 Filed: 12/23/2020 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 7 acknowledged that “when Ms. Onesti advised BGT that [the Navy] agreed that the water test results provided by BGT were to be used in sizing water treatment system for the [turbine], it could be construed as being tantamount to acceptance and authorization to proceed with the contrac- tor’s intended revisions.” Furthermore, according to BGT, the contracting officer must have directed the Navy’s communications regarding the exhaust collector and engine mounts because he was the only person with authority to withdraw those GFE items and reallocate them as fleet assets. Relatedly, BGT alleges that the contracting officer “knew or should have known” of the Navy’s request for a cost savings and the Navy’s threatened withdrawal of GFE because BGT com- municated those issues in progress reports that were regu- larly distributed to the contracting officer. C BGT organized its amended complaint into five counts. Two of those counts, Counts IV and V, are not at issue in this appeal. A fair reading of the allegations in Counts I through III reveals five possible grounds for relief: First, the complaint alleges that the Navy’s decision to withdraw the exhaust collector and engine mounts constituted a constructive change of the GFE provision for which BGT is entitled to an equitable adjustment. Although the contracting officer did not issue a signed order withdrawing those items of GFE, the complaint alleges that the contracting officer rat- ified the Navy’s decision to withdraw those items by real- locating them as fleet assets, thus providing the requisite authority for a constructive change. Second, the complaint alleges that the contracting of- ficer waived the Navy’s rights under the NSWCCD changes clause, thus converting the Navy’s decision to decrease Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 8 Filed: 12/23/2020 8 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES GFE into an official change for which BGT is entitled to an equitable adjustment. Third, the complaint alleges that the Navy breached its contractual duty to deliver the exhaust collector and engine mounts, and that BGT is entitled to contract damages for that breach. Fourth, the complaint alleges that the Navy breached its contractual duty to provide BGT an equitable adjust- ment after failing to deliver those GFE items, and that BGT is entitled to contract damages for that breach. Fifth, the complaint alleges that the Navy breached its implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by intentionally withholding those GFE items and thus obstructing BGT’s performance under the contract. BGT contends that it is entitled to an award of damages for that breach. Under each of its theories of liability, BGT seeks an award of $610,775, the cost BGT incurred in purchasing the exhaust collector and engine mounts on the commercial market. The Claims Court dismissed Counts I through III of BGT’s amended complaint and entered a final judgment on those counts under Rule 54(b) of the Rules of the Court of Federal Claims. BGT Holdings, LLC v. United States, 142 Fed. Cl. 474, 484 (2019). The Rule 54(b) judgment entitled BGT to take an immediate appeal from the dismissal of those counts. The Claims Court consolidated its analysis of BGT’s first two claims—constructive change through ratification and official change through waiver. The court held that neither claim entitled BGT to an equitable adjustment, be- cause “the specific contract language at issue here pre- cludes [BGT’s] arguments relating to ratification and waiver.” Id. at 479–80, 482 (citing the NSWCCD changes clause and subsection (i) of the government property clause). Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 9 Filed: 12/23/2020 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 9 The court held BGT’s claim of breach for failure to de- liver the exhaust collector and engine mounts to be pre- cluded by subsection (i) of the government property clause, which states that “the Government shall not be liable for breach of contract for . . . [a]n increase, decrease, or substi- tution of [GFE].” Id. at 482–83. Likewise, the court held that the contract precluded BGT’s claim of breach for fail- ure to provide an equitable adjustment, rejecting that claim based on its analysis of BGT’s first two claims. Id. at 482. The court rejected BGT’s final claim, alleging breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, given the Navy’s right to decrease or withdraw GFE under the con- tract. Id. at 483–84. II On appeal, BGT does not challenge the court’s holding that the government property clause precludes BGT’s claim of breach for failure to deliver the exhaust collector and engine mounts. See 48 C.F.R. § 52.245-1(i) (precluding claims of breach for the increase, decrease, substitution, or delay in delivery of GFE). BGT challenges the dismissal of its remaining claims, however. With respect to rights aris- ing under the contract, BGT argues that it is entitled to an equitable adjustment under both the government property clause and the fixed-price changes clause. In addition, BGT contends that it is entitled to compensation because the government breached its implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by withdrawing GFE items and then refusing to compensate BGT for that withdrawal through an equi- table adjustment. A The most straightforward claim in BGT’s amended complaint is that the Navy breached the government prop- erty clause, 48 C.F.R. § 52.245-1, by failing to provide an equitable adjustment after it withheld the GFE items it had agreed to deliver under the contract. Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 10 Filed: 12/23/2020 10 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES While the Navy was entitled to withdraw GFE under the government property clause, it was not free to do so without consequence. Two subsections of the government property clause are applicable to withdrawals of GFE. First, under subsection (d)(3)(i) of that clause, the contract- ing officer “may, by written notice, at any time—(A) In- crease or decrease the amount of Government-furnished property under this contract; . . . .” In that event, subsec- tion (d)(3)(ii) requires that the contracting officer “shall consider an equitable adjustment to the contract.” Second, under subsection (d)(2)(i) of the government property clause, if the GFE promised under the contract “is not de- livered to the Contractor by the dates stated in the con- tract, the Contracting Officer shall, upon the Contractor’s timely written request, consider an equitable adjustment to the contract.” Those two subsections cover cases in which GFE is not delivered, either by formal order of the contracting officer or otherwise. In either event, the rem- edy is the same: The contracting officer must consider an equitable adjustment. BGT pleaded facts sufficient to support a claim of breach under the government property clause. Count II of the amended complaint alleges that the Navy’s “refusal to provide an equitable adjustment was a material breach of the Contract.” J.A. 33. Count II also incorporates facts from earlier portions of the amended complaint, including that the Navy withdrew certain GFE items, that BGT was forced to purchase those items on the commercial market because they were not delivered, that BGT requested an equitable adjustment in a timely manner, and that the Navy denied that request. Even assuming that the contracting officer is not chargeable—through ratification or otherwise—with hav- ing ordered the withdrawal of the exhaust collector and en- gine mounts, the Claims Court erred by not considering the pathway to relief under subsection (d)(2)(i) of the govern- ment property clause. That pathway is available Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 11 Filed: 12/23/2020 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 11 regardless of whether the contracting officer executed a written authorization for withdrawing items of GFE iden- tified in the contract. If relief under subsection (d)(2)(i) were not available, and the contractor could seek relief only under subsection (d)(3)(ii), the government could avoid liability for reneging on its GFE commitments in any case simply by withdraw- ing GFE items without a written notice from the contract- ing officer. The availability of relief under subsection (d)(2)(i) provides a backstop against such a ploy. The government argues that BGT’s claim under sub- section (d)(2)(i) is untenable because the contracting officer was required only to “consider BGT’s request for an equi- table adjustment—not to grant the adjustment to BGT.” Appellee’s Br. 27. 1 Under the government’s theory, the phrase “shall consider” gave the contracting officer discre- tion to grant or deny an equitable adjustment and imposed no duty to grant an adjustment even if BGT could prove financial loss due to the government’s withdrawal of the exhaust collector and engine mounts. We reject the government’s interpretation of the term “shall consider” because it would produce absurd results under the government property clause. See United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839, 907 (1996) (avoiding a con- tract interpretation that “would be absurd”); Keepseagle v. Perdue, 856 F.3d 1039, 1047 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (interpreting an ambiguous contract term in order to avoid an absurd result). To illustrate, assume that the committed GFE in this case had a total value nearing $5 million, well over half of the contract price of $8.25 million. See J.A. 24–25. If the To demonstrate a constructive change, a plaintiff must show (1) that it performed work beyond the contract’s re- quirements, and (2) that the additional work was ordered, expressly or impliedly, by the government. Bell/Heery v. United States, 739 F.3d 1324, 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2014). As to the second element, the directive ordering the additional work must come from an individual having actual author- ity to bind the government. RMA Eng’g S.A.R.L. v. United States, 140 Fed. Cl. 191, 234 (2018) (citing Winter v. Cath- dr/Balti Joint Venture, 497 F.3d 1339, 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2007)). A clause that explicitly and exclusively assigns modification authority to a contracting officer ensures that other employees are not deemed to have implied authority to modify the contract. Winter, 497 F.3d at 1346. In this case, the NSWCCD changes clause assigned modification authority exclusively to the contracting officer. As a result, In addition to pleading ratification, BGT alleges that the contracting officer waived the requirement that changes be made only through a signed writing, thus mak- ing the Navy’s decision to withdraw GFE an official change under the contract. If BGT prevails on its theory of official change through waiver, it would have a plausible path to a remedy under either subsection (d)(3)(ii) of the government property clause or the fixed-price changes clause. BGT asserts that the contracting officer waived the Navy’s rights under the NSWCCD changes clause through a pattern of conduct. In particular, BGT alleges that the contracting officer, by virtue of his position of authority, knew of the Navy’s right to make changes exclusively through a signed writing. BGT further alleges that the contracting officer relinquished that right when he author- ized the withdrawal of GFE—which only he had the au- thority to do—and did so other than through a signed, written order. Finally, BGT alleges that the contracting officer waived that right when he characterized a previous communication from Ms. Onesti as being “tantamount to acceptance and authorization” of a requested operating procedure. As with BGT’s claim of constructive change, the Claims Court did not address whether BGT alleged sufficient facts to support a plausible claim of change through waiver. See BGT Holdings, 142 Fed. Cl. at 479–82. Rather, the court dismissed BGT’s claim of waiver for the same reasons it dismissed BGT’s claim of constructive change: It held that

Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 19 Filed: 12/23/2020

BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 19 BGT had contractually waived its right to assert waiver by agreeing to the NSWCCD changes clause, which was “un- ambiguously and diametrically opposed” to BGT’s waiver theory. Id. at 481–82. BGT argues that the language of the NSWCCD changes clause does not address waiver and thus does not preclude its waiver theory. The government takes the op- posite position. Neither party cites precedent that is di- rectly relevant to the issue. And our decision in Winter did not address the type of waiver theory that BGT asserts. We hold that BGT did not contractually waive its waiver theory. The NSWCCD changes clause has nothing to say about the fact pattern of waiver, i.e., an authorized individual with knowledge of a contract right taking ac- tions that evince an intent to abandon that right. The NSWCCD changes clause warns BGT not to com- ply with any order “unless it is in writing and signed by the Contracting Officer.” To be sure, that language addresses actions by the contracting officer, an authorized individual with knowledge of contract rights. But the purpose of that language is to warn BGT to disregard orders from unau- thorized personnel, not to prevent the contracting officer (or some other high-level official) from intentionally waiv- ing the government’s rights as to how changes must be or- dered. The government argues that BGT’s waiver theory con- tradicts the NSWCCD changes clause because that clause “unambiguously states that any directive by unauthorized Government personnel ‘will be considered to have been made without authority.’” Appellee’s Br. 21. Relatedly, the government argues that BGT’s waiver theory would con- tradict the settled principle that actions by unauthorized government employees do not bind the government. The government’s arguments miss the point. BGT is not asserting that lower-level employees waived the Navy’s Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 20 Filed: 12/23/2020 20 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES rights. Nor could it make such an assertion, because the doctrine of waiver assumes that the individual committing waiver has authority to waive a right in the first instance. See Molton, Allen & Williams, Inc. v. Harris, 613 F.2d 1176, 1178 (D.C. Cir. 1980) (analyzing “whether the gov- ernment agent dealing with appellant had authority to and in fact did waive [a contract] provision”); Globe Indem. Co. v. United States, 102 Ct. Cl. 21, 38 (1944) (holding that the government’s engineer and architect did not have author- ity to waive certain contract rights). Rather, BGT is assert- ing that the contracting officer waived the Navy’s rights, which does not contradict the settled principle that actions by unauthorized government personnel cannot bind the government. See Winter, 497 F.3d at 1344. Because we disagree with the Claims Court’s ruling that BGT’s waiver theory was precluded by the contract, we vacate the dismissal of BGT’s claim of official change through waiver. We remand for the court to determine whether BGT pleaded facts sufficient to support its waiver theory and, if so, whether the contracting officer waived the requirement that changes be made only by a written order of the contracting officer. C The final claim for relief in BGT’s amended complaint is that the Navy breached its implied duty of good faith and fair dealing by intentionally withholding the exhaust col- lector and engine mounts and by communicating its deci- sion to withhold those GFE items in an unsanctioned manner. BGT alleges that the Navy’s conduct frustrated BGT’s ability to perform its contractual obligations by forc- ing it to incur $610,775 in excess costs. In dismissing BGT’s claim, the Claims Court consid- ered the express language of the contract, which gives the Navy the ability to decrease or withdraw GFE and pre- cludes a claim of breach for such actions. BGT Holdings, 142 Fed. Cl. at 483–84 (citing subsections (d)(3)(i)(A), Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 21 Filed: 12/23/2020 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES 21 (d)(3)(i)(A)(C), and (i)(3) of the government property clause). As a result, the court held that the Navy’s with- drawal of GFE did not violate its implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. Id. We agree with the Claims Court that the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing provides no basis for extra- contractual relief in this case. The contract unquestionably gives the Navy the right to decrease or withdraw GFE. BGT cannot use the doctrine of good faith and fair dealing to complain of the very conduct that the contract expressly permits. See Precision Pine & Timber, Inc. v. United States, 596 F.3d 817, 831 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“The implied duty of good faith and fair dealing cannot expand a party’s contractual duties beyond those in the express contract or create duties inconsistent with the contract’s provisions.”). For the reasons set forth in parts II-A and II-B above, the contract itself provides other avenues of relief for BGT that preempt the need to invoke the doctrine of good faith and fair dealing. BGT’s complaints regarding the Navy’s practice of communicating directives other than through the contracting officer’s signed writing are fully addressed by BGT’s alternative theories for relief under the govern- ment property clause and the fixed-price changes clause as we have construed them. See Hickcox-Huffman v. US Air- ways, Inc., 855 F.3d 1057, 1066 (9th Cir. 2017) (“[Appel- lant] has sufficiently alleged that [appellee] breached an express provision of terms of transportation and thus need not rely on this interpretive doctrine [of good faith and fair dealing].”); Cruz v. FXDirectDealer, LLC, 720 F.3d 115, 125 (2d Cir. 2013) (finding good faith and fair dealing redun- dant “when a breach of contract claim, based upon the same facts, is also pled”); CFS Int’l Cap. Corp. v. United States, 118 Fed. Cl. 694, 701 (2014) (same). Moreover, be- cause the application of the “shall consider” language in the government property clause already imposes a duty of good faith on the Navy, there is no justification for invoking an Case: 20-1084 Document: 55 Page: 22 Filed: 12/23/2020 22 BGT HOLDINGS LLC v. UNITED STATES extra-contractual duty of good faith that would be redun- dant of the duty imposed by that clause. Although BGT relies on the doctrine of good faith and fair dealing as a separate ground for relief, that claim is based on the same set of facts as BGT’s other claims. The contract itself defines the parties’ respective rights in light of those facts. If the contract had expressly authorized the Navy to withdraw the GFE without consequence, the par- ties’ rights would be settled by the contract, and the duty of good faith and fair dealing would have no role to play in resolving this dispute. Because we interpret the contract to provide BGT a mechanism for obtaining compensation for the withdrawal of GFE, BGT’s rights are likewise gov- erned by the contract, and the doctrine of good faith and fair dealing cannot be employed to readjust those rights. We therefore affirm the dismissal of BGT’s claim of breach of good faith and fair dealing. III In sum, we vacate the Claims Court’s dismissal of BGT’s claims of constructive change through ratification, official change through waiver, and breach for failure to provide an equitable adjustment, and we remand on those claims for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We affirm the Claims Court’s dismissal of BGT’s claim of breach of the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing. No costs. AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED