In 2023, the liberalization of procurement markets generally outpaced domestic protectionism with some worrisome signs. Evidence of liberalization was seen in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which added its first new member in four years and
A free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with procurement commitments offers an encouraging counterpoint to the stalled WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). While the FTA draws extensively from the GPA’s
This post surveys major actions in 2021 in the international procurement arena. It begins with agreements that are aimed at liberalizing procurement markets. It then looks at measures that are focused on protecting domestic procurement markets or restricting
In its 2020 National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) catalogued trade barriers in 63 countries, customs territories and regional associations, including the 50 largest markets for U.S. goods. This
In a February 2020 meeting, the WTO Committee on Government Procurement assessed the status of negotiations by several WTO members to join the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and Switzerland’s imminent ratification of the revised GPA. This post
A Djaghe reference paper, The Government Procurement Agreement under the World Trade Organization, examines the treatment of government procurement under the WTO. It begins with a brief consideration of the exclusion of procurement from multilateral
This post considers the prospects for developments relating to government procurement in the international arena in 2019. They include the Trump administration’s aims to obtain approval of the replacement of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
A report of the June 27th meeting of the WTO government procurement committee pointed to progress in negotiations of WTO members to join the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). It has been two years since the GPA added new members. This post highlights
Since the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) entered into force in January 1996, its membership has more than doubled, growing from 21 to 47 WTO members. It now constitutes slightly less than one-third of the total WTO membership. Three factors
The WTO Committee on Government Procurement (Committee) has issued its annual report (GPA/134). In that report, it took stock of the status of accessions to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), its work programs and development of arbitration