In its first meeting since July 2021, the WTO procurement committee approved North Macedonia’s membership in the plurilateral Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). At the same time, it acknowledged Brazil’s withdrawal of its market access offer. This
Two years after reaching an agreement in principle, the European Union and four members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) have finalized details of their 2019 agreement. Its government procurement chapter is limited to
A paper, Converging Procurement Systems: Developments in 2020, presented at the annual Thomas Reuters Government Contracts Year in Review Conference in February, examined key developments in the international procurement arena in 2020. They
On June 28, the European Union and the four founding members of Mercosur, a South American bloc, reached an agreement in principle on a new trade arrangement. It is the largest trade agreement that the EU has concluded. The European Commission
In March, the president exercised his authority under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% tariffs on aluminum imports, based on findings that the imports threatened the national security. The tariffs
The U.S. trade agenda stands in stark contrast to that of the European Union. While one is inward looking and narrowly focused, the other looks outward and calls for an ambitious negotiating schedule. This post highlights the major actions that the Atlantic
Until recently, Brazil has shown little interest in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or foreign procurement markets. Instead, it adopted procurement policies that favored its own suppliers and created barriers to participation by foreign
On June 26, 2017, the European Commission released its 7th annual Report on Trade and Investment Barriers for 2016. It identified 372 trade barriers in over 50 countries, a 10% increase over 2015. The Report highlights 36 new barriers and the resolution of
In the 2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) highlights significant barriers to U.S. exports. Government procurement policies, such as “buy national” policies and closed
Recently, the Wilson Center highlighted the ongoing challenges of corruption in a collection of essays, Wilson Perspectives: Combatting Corruption. The series provides “snapshots” of how specific countries, in particular, Brazil, China, Russia and