The United States excludes procurement that is subject to preferences for U.S. small and minority businesses from its commitments under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and free trade agreements (FTAs). This post provides background on the
Although the Trade Agreements Act provides the President with broad authority to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements, in practice the waiver has limited application. Under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and free trade agreements
The U.S. and the EU should exchange coverage of build-operate-transfer contracts and works concessions in the TTIP. In the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the United States and the European Union (EU) should aim
The TPP parties should use a variety of tools to address Malaysia’s concerns with opening its government procurement under the TPP. According to recent press reports, Malaysia is “wary” of procurement commitments in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
The TTIP Procurement Chapter should incorporate strong anti-corruption provisions. A new European Commission report, which examined corruption in the European Union (EU), concluded that public procurement in the Member States is particularly prone to
In the negotiations of the TPP and TTIP, the United States will need to overcome the challenges of covering state procurement in trade agreements. In current trade talks — the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
In light of the recent Canada-EU agreement, the United States and Canada should bolster the procurement coverage in the TPP by exchanging access to their electric utilities. Canada’s opening of the procurement of its energy utilities to the European Union
Over nearly 35 years, the United States has negotiated trade agreements that provide U.S. firms with opportunities to participate in 57 foreign government procurement markets. In 1981, the United States implemented the first agreement that opened federal