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
This post presents a paper that examines the numerous derogations from the most-favored-nation (MFN) principle applied by parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). Reciprocity conditions are attached to every element of market access
On May 30, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) took a step forward in its efforts to obtain Congress’s approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), with its submission of a draft Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) to congressional
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) recently issued the 2019 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), its annual tally of foreign trade and investment barriers. Government procurement, including “buy national”
On April 18, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued its report on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), concluding that it is likely to have a “moderate” impact on the United States. This post highlights the ITC’s
On March 22, the European Council (heads of the European Union’s member states) called for resuming efforts to adopt a regulation aimed at opening procurement markets of third countries, in particular China. This post outlines the proposed measure,
The United States has proposed a significant reduction in the number of members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would qualify for developing country status and benefit from special and differential (S&D) treatment. This post examines the
On February 27th, the United States and other parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) gave their final approval to the United Kingdom’s accession to the Agreement, in its own right, once it leaves the European Union. This post examines
On February 13, the European Parliament approved the European Union-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA). The comprehensive trade agreement will enter into force as soon as Singapore concludes its own internal procedures and both parties complete the final
The United States and the European Union have issued proposals on the scope of their planned trade negotiations that reveal significant differences. On January 12, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published negotiating objectives that call for a