The re-negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are entering their 9th month with no clear indication of when or how they might be concluded. President Trump has alternated between supporting the negotiations and threatening to withdraw
In response to an April presidential directive, the Secretary of Commerce is to present the President with a Buy American report by November 24. That report is to include “specific recommendations to strengthen implementation of Buy American Laws”. In
December will mark the 10th year since China began negotiations to join the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). In the ensuing years, it has submitted six offers, with its latest offer tabled three years ago. While GPA parties continue to press it to
In the renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Politico’s Morning Trade reported that the United States proposes to cap Canadian and Mexican access to U.S. procurement at the level of the combined procurement that the two NAFTA
On April 18, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) that elaborates on his directive to the Executive Branch to “Buy American and Hire American”. The Buy American portion of the Order seeks to maximize the use of U.S.-made products
On December 31, 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced that it was considering negotiations of a Reciprocal Defense Procurement Memorandum of Understanding (“defense MOU”) with Japan’s Ministry of Defense (80 FR 81812). DoD is seeking
An earlier posting outlined U.S. treatment of domestic content requirements that apply to states and other sub-federal entities as a condition of federal loans or grants. This posting will examine the evolution of those requirements. Domestic content
A new “Buy American Act” restriction passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could undermine the ability of the U.S. to negotiate access to new procurement markets for U.S. firms. On May 30, 2014, Inside U.S. Trade reported that the U.S. House of
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
In 2014, China should fulfill its WTO commitment to join the Government Procurement Agreement. At the 24th U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in December, China committed to “accelerate” its negotiations to accede to the WTO