Tag: FTAs

Buy American Requirements in Federal Financial Assistance to Sub-federal Entities

The U.S. has used different approaches in its procurement agreements with regard to domestic purchasing requirements attached to federal funds. A recent posting examined U.S. treatment of “buy American” requirements that apply to federal government

Trade Agreements Act of 1979: Broad Authority, Narrow Application

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

Role of TPP in US Trade Policy

A Singaporean ship  in the Chittagong Port. Photo: Abir Abdullah/ADB

Summary

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is akin to other free trade agreements (FTAs) that the United States (US) has negotiated over the past two decades that are aimed at opening markets and providing new opportunities for US goods, services, and firms.

The TPP is the first FTA to be negotiated by the Obama Administration.

Update on TPP and New FTA Negotiations Initiated by the Obama Administration The countries engaged in the negotiations of TPP have expanded to a group of 12 with the addition of Japan.  They now represent nearly 40 percent of global GDP and a third of global trade.   While the parties made substantial progress on the negotiations in 2013, they were unable to complete them as hoped.  No date has been set for finalizing the agreement. The Obama Administration has initiated negotiations of a second comprehensive FTA  -- the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union (EU).  A successful negotiation of the TTIP with the EU and its 28 member states would more than double the number of countries subject to FTAs with the U.S.  Currently, the U.S. has 14 FTAs that cover 20 countries (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Republic of Korea, Oman, Panama, Peru and Singapore). Read More This posting by Jean Heilman Grier was first published in Asia Pathways, a blog of the Asia Development Bank Institute, on May 31, 2013.

Summary The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is akin to other free trade agreements (FTAs) that the United States (US) has negotiated over the past two decades that are aimed at opening markets and providing new opportunities for US goods, services, and

BOT Contracts and Works Concessions in TTIP

 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

Revised GPA as Model for TPP Procurement Rules

The TPP should base its procurement rules on the revised WTO Government Procurement Agreement to ensure the most up-to-date provisions and contribute to the expansion of international procurement standards in Asia. Government procurement will be an integral

Challenges of Covering State Procurement in TPP and TTIP

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

U.S. and Canada Should Exchange Electric Utility Procurement in the TPP

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

U.S. Agreements Open Foreign Procurement

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