North Macedonia became the 49th WTO member to implement the plurilateral WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) on October 30th, four years after the last accession (Australia in 2019). The accession fulfills a commitment made by North
A paper examines how preferences and unilateral measures impacting procurement are creating tensions in the international trading system. These measures are extending beyond the procurement sector and its international disciplines. They are being
The White House’s final guidance on implementing the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA Act), issued on August 14, added no provisions to its proposed guidance for the application of the Act’s ‘Buy America’ preference to
The United States and the European Union (EU) are teaming up on a green public procurement initiative. As two leading parties to the plurilateral WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), their joint action could have a significant motivating effect on
Following a hiatus of nearly two years, the WTO Government Procurement Committee has – at last – selected a new chair, enabling it to resume its work. On May 17, it selected Martin Zbinden from Switzerland as Its new leader. This post looks
The European Union (EU) is implementing a Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) that is aimed at addressing distortions caused by foreign subsidies in EU public procurement. The EU contends that foreign subsidies could provide foreign firms with an unfair
The Biden administration has demonstrated that it can be flexible in carrying out its ‘Made in America’ agenda when necessary to accomplish other goals. This flexibility can be seen in its contrasting approaches to implementing domestic content
The George Washington University presented a webinar on “A new barrier to transatlantic procurement: the European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation on April 18. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force on January 12, 2023, with the
The Biden administration is intent on closing what it regards as a “giant loophole” that has allowed infrastructure projects to be built with products (other than iron and steel) “sourced from anywhere in the world.” To that end, it has proposed
In December 2022, the European Union (EU) concluded negotiations of an upgraded free trade agreement (FTA) with Chile. The EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement is the 9th FTA the EU has negotiated since 2017 when it implemented a comprehensive agreement